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

I thank Senator Small for his question, and I also acknowledge Senator Small as someone who is a small-business owner himself. He built a small business up from scratch in the south-west of Western Australia. He knows what it's like to have sleepless nights, he knows what it's like to employ people, and he knows what it's like to pay wages.

It's people like Senator Small, the small-business men and women across Australia, that the Morrison government continues to deliver for. Why? Because, as we know, they are the backbone of the Australian economy. They are the employers of over six million Australians. Every day over six million Australians wake up and they are able to go to work and have the dignity of work because of the small and family businesses in Australia. Look at what they do in local communities. As we know, they are the lifeblood of their local communities. They sponsor the sporting teams and the community events, and they often offer young Australians their very first job.

The Morrison government have provided $251 billion in economic support to the lifeblood of the Australian economy throughout COVID-19. In particular, as we know, JobKeeper has been an essential policy. It's now estimated to have provided $90 billion worth of support, and it is a wage subsidy on a scale that has never been seen in Australia. The cash-flow boost, giving businesses back their own hard earned money, saw over $35 billion provided to over 800,000 businesses. The supporting apprentices wage subsidy has kept around 119,500 apprentices on the tools in 62,600 small businesses. They are the backbone of the Australian economy, and the Morrison government backs them every step of the way.