Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are more than a million people in our country today who are relying on JobKeeper. On the weekend, that support will be ripped away and it's estimated that between 100,000 and 250,000 Australians will lose their jobs as a consequence. I just want you to imagine getting elected by your community, coming to Canberra and making decisions in this chamber that you know will put somewhere in the order of 1,000 people that you represent out of work. I can't see a single person behind me who would make such a decision but that is what every Liberal and National who come into this chamber have done.

JobKeeper helped a lot of people, no question about it, but there are aspects of this scheme that have been administered appallingly. What we know from Ownership Matters is between $15 billion and $20 billion of JobKeeper money was paid to firms whose profits actually rose during 2020. So because of the Morrison government, some of the richest companies in this country are pocketing billions of dollars in taxpayer money my constituents paid for. And now the government comes into this chamber and says that it can't afford to support the people that I represent here. Gerry Harvey's company recorded a 116 per cent profit increase over the last year. His company received $22 million in JobKeeper and is not going to pay it back. If you owe $50 to Centrelink, they will come for you with everything they have and it's a double standard that, after eight years, we are sick of. (Time expired)