Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Cafes, sporting clubs and centres, dance schools, manufacturers and tradespeople are very diverse businesses, but what they have in common is what they've been telling me: that JobKeeper has been an absolute lifesaver for their business. Around 4,500 businesses in Lindsay have been accessing the JobKeeper program for their employees. That's thousands of local small and family businesses keeping people in our community connected to local jobs.

I recently visited Quest Penrith. Phil and the team discussed the challenges that they've been facing due to the coronavirus pandemic. They're particularly struggling with closed borders, which are preventing corporate travellers and forcing sporting teams to cancel big sporting events. This is costing thousands of dollars in cancellations. The JobKeeper legislation, for many businesses like Quest, is the difference between remaining open, servicing customers and reopening on the other side, and closing their doors and losing local jobs. Local jobs are what I am absolutely passionate about—local jobs for local people. One employee told me that she used to have to commute out of the area every day for work. Over 300,000 people in Western Sydney do that. The job that she has with Quest means that she can work closer to home and have that work-life balance and spend time with her family after work, not on the train commuting home. So it is really important that we support our local businesses to keep local people able to work in our community.

Another local business that has been kept in business by JobKeeper is the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre. I recently spoke in this place to highlight a few of my election commitments. One of those commitments I made was delivered to the centre: to upgrade their facilities. It's a really popular facility for people in our community, particularly families. Luke, who is the managing director of the centre, describes JobKeeper as an absolute lifeline. This has been the case for many sporting facilities, and small and family businesses, in my electorate of Lindsay. Luke told me the centre plans to have local children back playing basketball and volleyball in October. I wish them all the very best for their reopening. I know how much this will mean to local families. Local sporting facilities are important to families in our community.

I've also met on a number of occasions with Julie, Alan and the team at Nepean Aquatic Centre and Eva Borys Swim School. Learning to swim is such an essential part of Australian life for safety, fitness and fun. The Nepean Aquatic Centre hosts learn-to-swim lessons for babies, children and adults, as well as sport and fitness options for competitive swimmers, squad training, lap swimming and aquarobics. One day I was there meeting the team and I saw the rehabilitation work that they also do at this centre.

But, as with so many businesses, the restrictions imposed to help stop the spread of the coronavirus forced the temporary closure of the centre. The JobKeeper program was vital to ensure the incredible staff who are there who teach these lifesaving skills to children and encourage healthy active living in our community, which I'm completely behind, were able to stay connected to their local jobs and re-emerge on the other side. Now the swim school is open again for local families and they are delighted that children can learn to swim. As their motto says: 'Love to Swim, Swim for Safety, Swim for Life'. Now, as we come into summer, we have work to do to ensure that, even as restrictions come into place, the swim school can do its very important work of teaching children these very crucial skills.

Keeping businesses in business and maintaining local jobs is the key aim of the JobKeeper legislation. For Quest Penrith, the Nepean Aquatic Centre, the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre and so many other local businesses—the dance schools, the manufactures and the tradespeople—this means they will be able to re-emerge from the coronavirus, open their doors and continue to contribute so much to our community and our local economy. As we continue to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic and look to the other side, we must make sure our small businesses and community organisations have the support to open their doors and sustain local jobs. The Morrison government's JobKeeper amendments will make sure we can keep businesses in business and employees in jobs for Australians who need it most.

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