Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

The government rejects this amendment. It's very similar to some of the Greens amendments we saw before. Labor and the Greens seem to be pursuing a series of amendments that would actually narrow eligibility for businesses who want to hire a young Australian to get the support to create that additional job to hire a young Australian. Let's keep in mind, in relation to this scheme, that businesses have to increase the number of people on the payroll, they have to increase the size of their payroll and they are subject then to appropriate auditing in terms of the way this program works.

There is nothing wrong, as I said earlier in this debate, with a business making a profit. We want profitable businesses in Australia because profitable businesses hire more people and create more jobs, and that is exactly what we are seeking to achieve. What we want and what we want to ensure, through the safeguards in this legislation, is that there is very clearly a process in place where businesses receive the JobMaker hiring credit only if they are increasing the total headcount on their books and if they are also increasing the total payroll that they pay out—dual safeguards to make sure the credit is there to help achieve more jobs for more young Australians.