Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let's be honest about the JobKeeper program: if you could have your time again, you'd redesign it. The program rollout has been clunky. Businesses have complained that it's been poorly communicated. It was a simplistic program for a very dynamic and complex labour market. However, it's all we've got, and it needs to keep going. JobKeeper has saved thousands of jobs, particularly in my home state of Victoria and in my electorate. There are over 4,000 businesses currently accessing the JobKeeper program. Over 16,000 employees are on that program. It has saved jobs.

We are in stage 3 in Bendigo. We are not feeling the pain as acutely as our Melbourne colleagues, but stage 3 has still had a significant impact on our businesses and on local jobs. And it's not just been stage 3 for a couple of weeks, I'd like to remind the House that we are coming up to six months of stage 3 restrictions, with a brief period of about three weeks where we went back to stage 2. What it has meant is a significant hit to local business, and this is why JobKeeper, I believe, needs to be linked to restrictions. That is why, whilst we let the passage of the legislation go through the House last night, when it goes to the Senate we are calling upon the government to negotiate, to be more flexible, so that we can make sure that the assistance where it is most needed, like states like Victoria, is getting to those workers and those businesses.

What's it like right now in my part of the world? I spoke to a few hospitality businesses before coming up here. Brookes Brewery are a craft brewer. Their on-average downturn for the last five months is about 40 per cent. They're a wholesaler. They have two staff on JobKeeper receiving about $3 K per month. They say, 'It feels like we need to start from scratch because it has been going on for so long.'

Sharon and Tim Carlson, from the Best Western Crystal Inn, say downturn is down 80 to 95 per cent over five months. In August, they only took $6.5 K, and most of it was from one aged-care patient who's now living in a motel room—that's a story for another day. We also spoke to Jacqueline Brodie-Hanns who has the Taproom in Castlemaine, which is connected to their Shedshaker Brewery business. They are down 90 per cent on the brewing side and surviving by selling at farmers' markets. They are particularly worried about the impact that this pandemic is having on the creative sector and musicians and the fact that there is very little support from this government. We do support JobKeeper but believe it needs to be tailored and it needs to support people in Victoria the most.