Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Noni from Carrum Downs in my electorate works in the construction industry and says that she is barely able to make ends meet on the current JobKeeper rate. When the Prime Minister's cuts to JobKeeper kick in this month, Noni says her family will have to live off savings, and she's worried they won't last. Why is this Prime Minister cutting JobKeeper for people like Noni in the middle of the worst recession in almost a century?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There have been many measures that the government has introduced. JobKeeper has obviously been the most significant. But we also note that there are some sectors that were facing very significant additional impacts as a result of the COVID-19 recession. Australians know why the numbers in our economy are what they are today. Australians know that the COVID-19 recession has been produced by the global pandemic and the global recession that has followed from that. Australians know that. And anyone who would seek to suggest that it is other than that clearly isn't living in the same country that the rest of us are, or in the same place. Australians know why.

But Australians also know that we were quick to put in place JobKeeper. We were quick also to put in place a very significant package for HomeBuilder, which was designed and is being effective in ensuring that Australians who want to go and build homes and do major renovations on their homes are going to go about doing that. We've seen that in Victoria. We've seen it in New South Wales. We've seen it particularly in Western Australia, where the program has been picked up, endorsed and supported by the Western Australian government, who have added to that project and have commended it for its timeliness and for its targeting. So whether it's the construction industry, whether it's the entertainment sector, whether it's the hospitality sector or whether it's the aviation sector in particular—these areas so significantly impacted—the government has stepped up, we've stepped in and we will stand with them each and every step of the way.

But the path to recovery will not be paved with endless, endless support of the government. It will be paved with the endless effort of Australians, their enterprising spirit and restoring and building their businesses, whether it's a home-building business, a construction business, a transport business, the aviation sector or a retail business—whatever it is. Those businesses will drive those jobs and the incomes Australians will rely on. That will drive our economy back, and we need to ensure the constraints are taken off them so they can get back to what they were doing, which was employing millions of Australians to support the very Australians that you're referring to.

So JobKeeper will remain in their businesses, including in the construction sector, which will be a priority area for opening up in Victoria. That is an area where you can open up your residential construction, in Victoria, in a way that is both COVID-safe and high economic impact. I've been quite adamant about that being a key part of the Victorian reopening strategy, and I welcome the positive discussions I've had with the Premier about that very issue. That's where the jobs will come from. That's where the income will come from—by these businesses getting back on their feet and ensuring that they can provide ongoing support for their employees. (Time expired)