Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Antic for the question. As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Australia, on Australians and on the global economy, and it has seen Australia fall into recession. But the Morrison government moved decisively, as Minister Ruston articulated, earlier this year to stop the spread of COVID-19, protecting the health of Australians. We also moved decisively to protect the livelihood of Australians through our measures, such as JobKeeper, which is keeping that really important connection between around 3.5 million Australians, as employees, and their employers.

Nearly all Australians have had their lives impacted in some way or another by COVID-19. In particular, it is still having a significant impact on certain sectors of Australia, and in that regard I note what is occurring in Victoria, where so many are still subject to very strict lockdown measures. But as large parts of our economy begin to reopen in the coming months, the government is focused on getting Australians back into work. Our JobMaker plan will return Australians to work and help Australia's economy return to growth. Every minister, every department, led by the Prime Minister from the top—we are working to put job creation front and centre of everything we do. We have a long-term plan for Australians, unlike those opposite. All they have is frivolous comments. Our long-term plan to get Australians back into work will chart the way forward for a new generation of economic success.

We will continue to build on this plan. We'll undertake that important skills reform that I've referred to—the industrial relations reform, removing unnecessary red tape and of course delivering a record infrastructure spend—because, as we all know, when you invest in infrastructure you create jobs. And we are locking in affordable and reliable energy, boosting our manufacturing capability and, as Senator Birmingham well knows, opening new export markets to create even more opportunities and jobs. (Time expired)