Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise to speak on this bill, the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Jobkeeper Payments) Amendment Bill 2020, and the proposed extension of the JobKeeper program and the associated IR laws that will accompany it. In my experience, residents and businesses in my electorate have been extremely grateful for the early actions of the coalition government in combating this one-in-100-year pandemic. They've appreciated the clear direction set out by the Australian health sector emergency response plan and the almost daily briefings by either the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the health minister or the Chief Medical Officer through all forms of social media and television.

Perhaps most of all, the residents and businesses across my electorate were extremely grateful for the then $70 billion JobKeeper package. Our government's JobKeeper package has helped keep Australians in jobs and supported businesses in this time of crisis. It's helped businesses impacted by coronavirus to cover the costs of their employees' wages so that more people have retained jobs and have continued to earn an income. In the words of one of the JobKeeper recipients in my electorate, Dorrigo hotel owner Peter Feros: 'JobKeeper has enabled me to keep my most important asset—my staff.' He then went on to tell me how good they were, and that he had an award-winning chef at the pub.

There is absolutely no doubt that the last six months has been the most difficult time for all Australians—none more so than when this pandemic hit, with the anxiety of, 'Will I have a job?', 'How will I run my business?', 'Will I actually have a business to run?', 'How will I pay my mortgage and my rent?' But this government provided the biggest ever lifeline of any government in our history, and supported hundreds of thousands of businesses and millions of Australian workers—businesses like the Settlers Inn in Port Macquarie, the Observatory Apartments in Coffs Harbour and the West Kempsey Hotel. I was contacted by the owner of McGrath real estate, who asked me to pass on his personal thanks to this government because he was able to keep on his seven employees.

I had hundreds of similar emails thanking this government for its immediate intervention and for keeping all Australians afloat. I've taken a selection of those emails. Kate Walsh from Wauchope Travel, on 20 May, wrote: 'I'm incredibly grateful for the role the government has played in controlling the coronavirus pandemic and ensuring the safety of Australians and for the JobKeeper payment, which has enabled me to remain in the industry I love. Without this, there is absolutely no doubt that I'd be added to the ever-growing unemployment figures. JobKeeper has allowed me to return to work after being stood down, and it means I have been able to assist my employer with the enormous job each of us is currently undertaking. Unlike some industries, travel agents have never worked so hard than during the COVID-19 pandemic.'

Neil Manson from the Observatory hotel, on 27 April, wrote: 'I felt it was important for you to know that thanks to JobKeeper almost all our staff are still working, not just taking the money but contributing. We will come out the other side still with a business, still with a workforce, still with our regulars and able to hit the ground running.'

Finally, John Cassegrain from the very well-known Australian winemaker business said: 'The JobKeeper program is a great initiative to help employers such as us retain staff. While the winery revenue is a shadow of normal, we still have critical wine production functions to perform if we are to have a wine to market as and when the market returns.'

During the last six months I have met with almost all of my chambers of commerce branches, and without exception all of their members tell me stories about how JobKeeper has helped support all of their businesses and staff. Mums, dads, apprentices and young people out of school are all able to continue to survive because of this government's initiative.

So it dismays me when the haters and the detractors bleat like sheep for the sake of political noise. The Prime Minister himself said no system is perfect, and this government has addressed the issues that have arisen in a timely and appropriate manner. What this government has done is provide the necessary and immediate support to our Australians so they can put food on the table, they can clothe the kids and they can put petrol in the car. Our Australians have remained resilient and positive, and we in this place should recognise their efforts—all the business owners and all the employees. As parliamentarians, we have a reciprocal obligation to lead with resilience and positivity and, above all, provide hope—hope that in the not-too-distant future there will be no need for JobKeeper, hope that in the not-too-distant future it will be business as usual again. What Australians do not want to see right now is political navel gazing or self-interest. So I welcome this bill before us today to extend the prescribed period of the coronavirus payment framework. I wholeheartedly support the JobKeeper payment and the temporary changes to the Fair Work Act, and I wholeheartedly support that they go past September to support all of our hardworking business owners and employees.

Two large sectors in my region of the Mid North Coast are tourism and hospitality, and these businesses are still yet to attract a lot of customers due to the international borders being closed and the borders above and below us being closed. It is for these and other businesses in my electorate—indeed, throughout the entire nation—that I support the JobKeeper payment being extended for another six months. I also support businesses' and organisations' eligibility being retested and targeted so as to ensure the program only assists those businesses that need it the most.

The bill before us today also amends the information-sharing arrangements to enable the Australian tax office to share JobKeeper payment information with Commonwealth, state and territory government agencies to assist them in their efforts to address the impacts of the coronavirus.

This is a common-sense move which should be approached with bipartisanship and will improve our ability to approach the economic crisis arising from the pandemic. We all wish that Australia—in fact, the world—had not experienced the coronavirus. It is a once-in-100-years event and has caused much devastation and loss. Australia is doing well. We have strengthened our health system and our aged-care system and continue to work with the states and territories. This bill will enable us to continue supporting our vital businesses and people through the historic JobKeeper payment. It will enable us to continue supporting thousands of businesses and organisations in Cowper who are grateful for this targeted, temporary support, which has been vital in helping them to chart the current uncertain waters. I urge all members to support the bill.

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