David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Time being what it is, this will just be a small tempter before hearing the full details of the JobKeeper amendments in another time and place. In this limited time I would just like to point out that it is a real lifesaver. It's more than a job keeper. It has kept so many businesses in my electorate with their same employees. The businesses are still serving people and managing to get by during one of the greatest economic disruptions in the history of the country.

I'll give a few practical examples. I spoke to the owner, Gabriel Darzi, of the Sicilian Restaurant, now known as Cafe Toscano, and Cafe Giardino. It has basically kept their business going and sustainable. They haven't been able to have wedding-sized functions, but they have kept their company of 60 intact, with five people on JobKeeper. Up the road, in Taree, Jack & Co is another great food outlet. Basically, before JobKeeper, their income was in freefall, like that of many businesses. The upgrades they had planned were shelved, JobKeeper was introduced and they were still down, but they called in some of their contractors and their regular workers and put them all back on. The trade and contractor work had gone over a cliff, as had happened for many Australian businesses, but they also helped them by getting their business up and running, so it had a positive knock-on effect. Also, they've taken advantage of depreciation allowances and initiatives for improving cash flow. That instant asset write-off, combined with JobKeeper, has allowed them to keep their 25-person workforce intact. Another operator in my region, running several hotels in Port Macquarie and Lake Cathie, would have been in serious trouble if it weren't for JobKeeper. As you can appreciate, pubs and clubs have been seriously affected.

See this speech in context