Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

More than 1,700 workers at the JBS Dinmore meatworks in Ipswich, in my electorate, are struggling. They're struggling because they have been stood down with no pay, as the plant was shut down for two weeks from last Monday. This latest blow comes on top of cuts to shifts over the last two weeks, with workers having their hours and incomes slashed by 40 per cent. After this closure, the very best these workers could hope for is working a three-day week until Christmas, when the plant has its annual month-long shutdown. This is a terrible state of affairs for these workers and their families. JBS Dinmore has been hit hard by a perfect storm of market and policy induced factors. The drought, reduced cattle herd, the Chinese beef import ban and competition from other meat processors using labour hire to access the JobKeeper scheme have all hurt JBS Dinmore this year and seen its revenue collapse by 40 per cent. JBS Dinmore is the largest meat-processing plant in Australia and one of the biggest employers in Ipswich, with a long history in the region. This closure is having a devastating effect on the local community and local economy, not to mention the national economy. Numerous workers and their families have contacted me about this, and I know morale is at rock bottom, with many saying that this is the very worst they've seen it.

What is the Morrison government doing about it? All that is being offered is JobSeeker—in other words, unemployment benefits. As the wife of one JBS worker told me, this so-called big announcement was a slap in the face to these people and a huge let-down. It's simply not good enough. At times, this government seems more interested in getting a headline than actually helping people. There is no guarantee these workers will be eligible for JobSeeker when assessed on an individual case-by-case basis. And, besides, these workers don't want unemployment benefits. What they want is to keep their jobs. They want JobKeeper payments. More importantly, they want the meatworks to get back to full operation so they can get back to working full time.

Last week, I met with JBS management and the AMIEU Queensland branch, which is the meatworkers union, to talk about how we can fix this. I can tell you: the company and the union are singing from the same hymn sheet. Together, they're calling on the Morrison government to extend JobKeeper to these workers. This is the very best thing the government could do to help them and something the Treasurer could do with the stroke of a pen. Last week, I wrote to him to ask him to change the JobKeeper rules so these workers can be eligible for wage subsidy. Currently these workers are not eligible because JBS, as a consolidated company, hasn't lost enough income. Yet the JBS plant at Dinmore is clearly struggling, with its revenue down 40 per cent, so it alone as a standalone business would qualify. This is an anomaly and should be fixed.

These workers and their families deserve better, and they need our support. The government has made a number of changes to JobKeeper before, so they can tweak it again to change the eligibility criteria if they want to, to cover these workers and their families and save these jobs. While they're at it, the Morrison government could crack down on large meat processors using labour hire companies to access JobKeeper. These other processors are able to undercut JBS, outbidding them on cattle prices at the saleyard and distorting competition in the market, so JBS is being penalised for doing the right thing in keeping on its full-time staff, while competitors using JobKeeper subsidised labour hire workers are being rewarded. It's not a level playing field. It's not fair.

Finally, the government needs to fix the issue of the Chinese beef import suspension, which is also affecting the abattoir in Kilcoy in my electorate. It is clear the government has mismanaged the complex and challenging relationship with China, and now we're seeing the economic and human costs locally, in my electorate. The government needs to work with stakeholders here and in China and with the industry and unions to resolve this as soon as possible. It's taking far too long and costing Australian jobs.

While they're at it, the Morrison government can consider universal national paid pandemic leave which includes Queensland. I'm asking the government, on behalf of these workers and their families, to support these local jobs and make sure these people are not left out and left behind. I can assure the House I'll keep fighting to protect these workers and their families, and stand up for my local community.

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