Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move request (1) on sheet 8948:

(1) Clause 7, page 4 (after line 29), at the end of clause 7, add:

  (3) In determining the entitlement of an entity to a payment for an employee of the entity, the rules must provide that the types of employee that an entity is entitled to receive a payment in respect of include an individual that on 1 March 2020 was an employee of the entity and was the holder of a temporary visa within the meaning of the Migration Act 1958.

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Statement pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000

Amendment (1)

Amendment (1) is framed as a request because it amends the bill in a way that is intended to direct funding under the proposed jobseeker program to additional individuals.

The amendment would require the Treasurer to make rules which include an additional class of employees when calculating an entity's entitlement to receive a payment under the scheme established by the bill. Specifically, the effect of the amendment would be to include temporary visa holders as eligible employees when assessing an entity's eligibility for payments from the Commonwealth under the rules.

As this would increase the number of employees for whom employers would be eligible to receive payments, the amendment will increase the amount of expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 16 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953.

Statement by the Clerk of the Senate pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000

Amendment (1)

If the effect of the amendment is to increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 16 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 then it is in accordance with the precedents of the Senate that the amendment be moved as a request.

This amendment relates to temporary visa holders' access to JobKeeper. We have had substantive discussion in this chamber about this particular issue. We are deeply concerned about this issue and about access to these provisions. The parliament is quite rightly moving to address the current crisis. We think that the people who are on temporary visas do need access to these provisions to be able to have a form of income and, in this instance, to be able to work where jobs are available and where they've had jobs. We've covered this substantially in the chamber, so I won't rehash those arguments other than to try to say: 'Please change your mind. Please support these workers. Please support these people who will have no form of support.' I tabled a petition earlier today that 20,523 people signed in a relatively short space of time, urging the government to move to support the people who are being left behind.

Question negatived.

by leave—Madam Deputy President, I ask that the Greens be recorded as supporting this amendment.