Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Most of us love a trip to the movies—the smell of popcorn, the choc-top and the big screen. Last week I visited Scotty's Cinemas in Raymond Terrace in my electorate of Paterson. I was pleased to meet Scott Seddon, president of Independent Cinemas Australia and proprietor of Scotty's Cinemas in Raymond Terrace and the famous Heddon Greta Drive In in my home town. Accompanying Scott was Neil Merrin, proprietor of Nelson Bay Cinemas, and Brenda, a resident and local movie buff.

Scott reached out to my office at the start of the pandemic last year. His business was in trouble with the pressure of COVID restrictions. Scott has a long history of working in the cinema industry and understood that independent cinema would be hit hard. Scott understood the solution. Labor understands the solution. At the time, the union movement, our Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, and many of us on this side called the government to follow global trends and implement an immediate wage subsidy.

I know some of those opposite—not all, but some—want to rewrite history. They want to pretend that they showed up on day one with this magnificent idea called JobKeeper. Well, that's actually not quite how it happened. Those opposite would remember the calls for a wage subsidy. They would remember the New Zealand Labour government announcing a wage subsidy. They would remember the pleas from us on the Labor side, the pleas from small and large business, to finally make the government act. And, woe betide, those queues at Centrelink certainly tipped them over the edge.

We know the PM came up with the quirky label 'JobKeeper'—and, sure, he's good at spin; we can give him that. However, those opposite are so quick to forget that we have this fantastic resource called Hansard and it's all there for everyone to read. Those opposite can spin it all they like, but the facts are the facts. It almost seems like it's in the DNA of the Liberals to never learn from past mistakes. Why are they refusing to extend JobKeeper?

Many small businesses are still crying out for help, and independent cinema is a case in point. It's two extremes with this government. They allow the subsidy to be so broad that it's pumped money into multimillion-dollar companies, allowing them to turn healthy profits, but then they want to refuse continued support for vulnerable small businesses like independent cinema. The arrogance of this PM to say, 'We're not running a blank cheque budget,' when they've tripled the national debt before the pandemic and while the PM was our Treasurer! The fact is that many industries are still doing it tough. Small businesses across the hospitality, entertainment and tourism sectors are all in desperate need of sustainable support—until we get on the other side of this pandemic.

When I visited Scotty's Cinemas and spoke with Neil last week, he told me that he currently employs 12 staff. That's 12 local jobs. Those are jobs that are tied to our COVID recovery. He told me that his local cinema has serviced our community for over 40 years and that, without the wage subsidy, it may have been lost to our community forever.

Independent cinemas like Nelson Bay Cinemas have employed hundreds of locals over the years and offered endless hours of entertainment to families across our community. Local ventures like Nelson Bay Cinemas and Scotty's Cinemas cater for all ages and, without these cinemas, locals would find it difficult to travel for entertainment. These local independent cinemas are vital to the identity of our regional communities and they sell our local stories too. Once we lose them, they're going to be gone for good and we can't afford that. Small businesses must be supported. The small independent cinema industry must be supported.

Minister Fletcher is bragging that this government is pouring millions of dollars into the film industry, but that's exactly the problem. They want to brag and subsidise the wages of actors and enable movies to be made here; they're just too short-sighted to realise that cinemas are the critical end of the business cycle—the last three feet, as it's often known. If you don't have the screens, you don't have customers. Let me tell you: independent cinema has survived radio, TV, colour TV, Beta, VHS, DVD, pay TV and streaming, but will it survive Minister Fletcher? That is the absolute question. Support your local cinemas.