Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We've all been tested in ways we never imagined a year ago. The pandemic has exposed the huge economic difficulties we now face as we look towards recovery. Across the nation, more than two million people are either out of work or underemployed—that is, they want to work more hours. The 1.6 million Australians still relying on JobKeeper as a lifeline are looking at next month with dread as the government cuts off that support. So my message to those opposite is: you need to keep supporting COVID-exposed industries, employees and businesses. You need to support small businesses and their employees—keep them connected. They need certainty, not all these whispers and suggestions. But those opposite, the Morrison government, still can't tell us what will happen to them. Businesses need to plan ahead and employees need to plan ahead, and they're not seeing any certainty.

It's been the worst recession in 100 years and that's why getting people who are unemployed back to work and keeping those who are employed connected to their workplaces is so important. Success will lie in a visionary policy, but we've seen nothing of that from those opposite, no follow through as per usual. What is their vision? They should be investing in jobs. Instead, they're sacking workers and defunding organisations that support people at work in our community.

Just look at what is happening in my electorate, in Darwin, with the NT Working Women's Centre. The Working Women's Centre helped vulnerable women manage issues like pay, working conditions, superannuation, discrimination, harassment, unfair dismissal, bullying, and workplace health and safety. For almost 30 years they've been doing terrific work supporting Territory women, in particular women living with a disability; women living in regional and remote areas; women experiencing violence; women with mental illness; young and mature-age women; and, of course, First Nations Territorians. The centre says that in April last year the top concerns for their clients were COVID-related issues, employment and pay. Workplace bullying and harassment were also major problems. It's clear that women, especially vulnerable women, need the support of the Working Women's Centre, which is locally based with local staff who have a deep understanding of the nuances and complications of working in a place like the Northern Territory. But, instead of supporting the Working Women's Centre, in December the government advised the centre it had failed to secure new funding and that current funding would run out on New Year's Eve. Well, happy new year to Territory women, with the defunding of the NT Working Women's Centre and the telling a group of dedicated Territory workers with very short notice that they would be entering 2021 unemployed at a time when unemployment rates were already so high. It's totally irresponsible. It's a rotten Christmas present. Giving funding to an interstate body with no NT presence for those jobs is also unfair. But, unfortunately, it's typical of those opposite.

Territory women in employment will suffer as a result of the loss of their local advocates. Labor knows that women are vitally important to the health and growth of our society and economy. Working women are important to our nation. When women are taken care of and do well in the workplace, the flow-on effects are felt at every level in our society. It's not just for the economy; it's for the wellbeing of our society and our families.

The NT government has stepped up and managed to find a bit of funding for the short term, but that will run out shortly. So I'm calling on those opposite, the government, to reinstate the funding for the Working Women's Centre so they can keep doing their incredibly valuable and important work for working women in the Northern Territory.

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