Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

If you're going to run up a trillion dollars worth of debt, then you want to have something to show for it. Today we learnt that not only has the government got nothing to show for it—not one significant infrastructure project to show for the trillion dollars worth of debt that this government has run up over the last nine months—but, worse than that, the JobKeeper program that was supposed to be put in place to save people's jobs has been rorted by some of the biggest companies on the Australian stock exchange to pump up their profits and pay executive bonuses and dividends. Over $10 billion has been funnelled from Australian taxpayers into the profits of these companies and into dividends of these companies that are making absolute bumper profits. That is bad enough, but when you look at what the government is not doing to address the desperate situation for those businesses in Australia who, in a few short weeks, are going to be left with no support, then that problem is a national disgrace! Over $10 billion to companies so they can channel it into bonuses and dividends, yet travel agents and those exposed to the international tourism industry are going to have to lay off staff.

Last week the government made, in full Scott Morrison fashion, a huge announcement. The Prime Minister made the announcement, 'We're going to be providing money to save the tourism industry.' It was absolute nonsense. I welcome the fact that some people are going to be given incentives to spend money to get on a plane, but what it means for my electorate is there's going to be taxpayer-funded incentives for people from my electorate to spend their money somewhere else in the country but no incentive for people to come to my electorate and to my region—destinations in the Illawarra, Southern Highlands and South Coast—to spend their money on tourism. This is an absolute disgrace.

Businesses are doing it very tough indeed. Last week I met with Leisure Coast Limousine Service. They have lost two-thirds of their business since the start of the pandemic. They have gone from 32 drivers to 23 drivers. This is a business that has been in business for decades, with three generations of the one family working in this business. They are currently facing the threat of having to close their doors. Scott Morrison—the Prime Minister tin ears—

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