Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Siewert, for your question. Clearly, one of the things that this government did back in March, when we realised that the coronavirus pandemic was going to have a significant impact on Australians, and particularly those Australians who find themselves out of work, was to put in place the $550 supplement to support people. We recognised, first of all, that there were no jobs out there; and, secondly, that people were sent home. Basically, we shut Australia down for two months. That ran for six months, as you would be well aware, and then in the July economic fiscal update we made the announcement that, recognising that the jobs market was still shallow, we were intending to extend that supplement at a rate of $250 through to the end of the year. At the same time, we recognise that we've seen jobs come back—we've seen over 700,000 jobs. If I'm correct, Senator Cash, 760,000 jobs have come back.

So what we're seeking to do is to encourage Australians to test themselves by going back into the jobs market, even if it means only getting a part-time job. That's why we've put in the $300 per fortnight income-free area—so that those people who find themselves out of work but have got the opportunity to go and get a little bit of work can do so without losing any of their payment. Going through until 31 December, people in Australia—