Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson for her question. She, as part of the Morrison government, is closely monitoring the economic effects of coronavirus on all Australians, especially and including women. Our significant economic support of almost $305 billion—that's around 15.3 per cent of GDP—is helping cushion the economic shock. We are taking unprecedented action to strengthen the safety net for Australians who lose their jobs. Sadly, we know that a disproportionate number of those are women, mainly because they are heavily represented in sectors that have sharp decreases in paid work—hospitality, tourism and retail.

The JobKeeper payment is helping keep Australians in jobs. We know this has been an incredibly welcomed measure, including in Robertson where Natalie, from CrocStars Swim School in Terrigal, contacted my good friend the member for Robertson to say: 'If it wasn't for JobKeeper, my staff would have gone upwards of 14 weeks without pay. The day this payment was announced I breathed a huge sigh of relief, knowing I could support those staff members who have been loyal to me during this difficult time.' That's the key feature of JobKeeper: it keeps women, whether they are employees or employers, connected to work and connected to each other. We are extending the JobKeeper payment until March 2021. We know that that will help those female dominated industries such as accommodation, food services and retail.

Increasing women's participation in paid employment will assist in accelerating Australia's overall recovery as the economy begins to revive. It's encouraging to see that we've seen around 200,000 jobs returning to women as the economy has started to reopen in most places across Australia—none more challenging, I must say, than around our borders. As someone who represents the New South Wales-Victorian border, I was pleased to see the Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, coming to Albury today to say that border is not going to be closed for one day longer than it needs to be. Thank you, Premier.

What's next? Well, we will refresh our $158 million Women's Economic Security plan. That has 17 initiatives. One that's particularly relevant to rural women is the Career Revive initiative, which supports women who step away, whether it be on farm or in their community, to come back to their career later. Women's economic security is about two things: it's about economic participation—workforce participation—and financial security. The Morrison government's commitment to supporting women through the pandemic and beyond is absolutely paramount.

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