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

Thank you very much, Senator Siewert, for your question and clearly a longstanding and enduring interest in those people that find themselves in need of the receipt of welfare. One of the things that has been made very clear by this government is that we remain committed to walking side by side with all Australians as we walk our way through this pandemic. We understand that it has been a tremendously tough year for many Australians over the last 12 months as this pandemic has taken an unprecedented toll on our economy, our society and, particularly, individuals who lost their work. One of the things that the government has been very clear about is that, whilst we are helping and supporting people who find themselves in a situation where they are unemployed, our most important role, now that the economy is starting to open up and we are starting to see all of the statistics and figures of an economic recovery, a jobs market recovery, with returned levels of job advertisements and job availability, is to make sure that the efforts of the government are entirely focused on assisting people on the pathway back to work. That's why the government has moved and transitioned much of our additional supports that are in the marketplace towards job creation and job access programs, like, for instance, the hiring—