Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today we've heard Senator Birmingham crowing about the state of the economy, literally shouting in this chamber about the government's achievements, when we know people are struggling to get back on their feet, when we know people are crying out for a big and bold jobs plan, when we know people want a big-picture plan of hope for their future, not slogans like the government's 'comeback' slogan—a slogan that got a great workout in the Senate today. While I was sitting in the chamber hearing this slogan thrown around, over and over and over again—the government's comeback—I had the chance to look up the dictionary definition of the government's new favourite term, 'comeback'. And here it is: 'a return by a well-known person, especially an entertainer'. An entertainer—well, Australians do not need an entertainer-in-chief. We don't need an ad-man-in-chief.

What Australians need is a leader to take the country through this crisis and a leader with a plan, not a leader with a focus grouped slogan. We need a leader with a big and bold jobs plan, a plan that we are yet to see from this Prime Minister and a plan that Australians need more than ever. The Reserve Bank has said it expects unemployment to stay high and to stay above prepandemic levels until the end of 2022. So there is nothing to crow about here, while people are still struggling to get back on their feet, while people are still hurting. There is no time for slogans while 2.4 million people are unemployed or underemployed, while the unemployment queues are continuing to grow and while in this country we continue to experience record-low wages growth that began well before the pandemic under this government. And there is no time to crow and shout in this chamber about achievements whilst three million Australians are relying on JobKeeper and JobSeeker to survive. Many of these people are the very people the Morrison government is leaving behind.

This government finds it all too easy to leave people behind. Just look at the millions who missed out on JobKeeper in the first place when they needed it the most: the casuals, the freelancers, the temporary migrants and so many more. Look at the hundreds of thousands of workers the government have just left out of their plans for the JobMaker hiring credit. Indeed, almost one million Australians aged over 35 have been left behind. Think about those Australians on JobKeeper and JobSeeker who will be left behind in just a few weeks time when their incomes will be cut while they are still struggling to get back on their feet. Their incomes will be cut despite the warnings from the OECD and despite the warnings from the Reserve Bank, the IMF and every prominent economist that you could name, who say that more needs to be done, that we need to maintain incomes and that we shouldn't be ripping support out of the economy too early. This government is leaving people behind in this recovery, just like the government is leaving behind people who have been devastated by bushfires in this country.

Let's think about what Senator Ruston said today. According to the minister, 'We're committed to standing by people affected by bushfires.' I doubt that people devastated by the fires last summer—who are still waiting for support, who are still waiting for the funding to rebuild, who are crowdfunding for the things that they need to rebuild and get their lives moving again—are going to be impressed or comforted by that statement. The minister said today, 'Communities received funding immediately.' Again, I doubt that devastated communities who are still waiting for support are going to be comforted by or, indeed, to believe that answer from the minister today.

Question agreed to.