Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Curtin for her question and I acknowledge her deep experience in the education sector before coming to this place , as a professor of law and as v ice-chancellor of the University of Notre Dame . She is somebody who understands the importance of job creation not just across the Curtin electorate but across the country.

The reality is that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across the world. The equivalent of 600 million jobs have been lost globally. Here in Australia, 10 per cent of the workforce have either seen their jobs lost or seen their working hours reduced to zero. The Morrison government responded with unprecedented levels of support, and we were able to do so because we approached this crisis from a position of economic strength. JobSeeker, JobKeeper, the cash flow boost, the $750 payments: t hese have helped save 700,000 jobs.

And last night we went further . Last night we went further because we understand that there is no economic recovery without a jobs recovery a nd there is no budget repair without a jobs recovery. The measures in the budget will help create 950,000 - plus jobs and see that unemployment rate steadily come down. There are initiatives around the tax system , there are initiatives around infrastructure and, then, of course, there is the hiring credit . The hiring credit is designed to help those who are between 16 and 35 years old who have been on JobSeeker, youth allowance or the parenting payment sometime in the last three months get back to work. And, to get them into work, w e're providing an incentive of either $100 or $200 a week to businesses , depending on the age of the person. They have to do a minimum of 20 hours. This program will run for 12 months, and it will support 450,000 jobs— 450,000 jobs. The JobMaker hiring credit is designed to help young people who have been hit hard by this crisis get into work. The budget came at a very difficult time for our country, when a lot of people are continuing to do it tough. Last night's budget was all about jobs, and the JobMaker hiring credit was a key part of that.

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