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

Australian workers and businesses are facing a JobKeeper cliff in just 38 days, when the government cuts this absolutely vital support. We all know this. All of us in this place know this from the conversations that we have in our communities, and we know this from the comments of the Reserve Bank Governor, Dr Lowe.

But what we don't know as a result of the government's answers in question time today is exactly how many jobs will be lost by the government's refusal to listen to workers about their fear of this JobKeeper cliff, and their refusal to listen to small business about their fear of this impending JobKeeper cliff at the end of March. This government has demonstrated an absolute refusal to listen to the workers and the businesses that are about to be thrown off the JobKeeper cliff by this government. They've refused to listen to the Victorian events industry. They've refused to listen to the tourism industry. They've refused to listen to all of the economists and the experts, including most recently the National Australia Bank, who have warned against withdrawing support too early.

But what we do know is that the government is getting ready to throw hundreds of thousands of workers and hundreds of thousands of small businesses off the JobKeeper cliff at the end of March. Almost half a million direct tourism jobs have already been lost—half a million. And we know there are hundreds of thousands more jobs in tourism that are projected to be thrown off that JobKeeper cliff in March. Despite the increasingly desperate pleas of sectors like the Victorian events industry, which has been so hard hit during the crisis, the workers and businesses in that industry face the same JobKeeper cliff. In fact, I met with the Save Victorian Events team just this week.

So, yes, to the senators opposite, we are talking to businesses, and we are hearing what businesses are saying to us. I've been speaking to representatives of businesses in live events, corporate events and the events supply chain. I've been talking to representatives of 500 businesses across Victoria. They've surveyed their businesses. They've spoken to hundreds of workers about the financial impact of COVID on Victoria's events industry. The results of those conversations are very clear. They have told us—and I know they are telling the government—that, if JobKeeper ends in March, 43 per cent of companies will need to let staff go, and an additional 40 per cent of companies will potentially need to close their business. That means that 83 per cent of companies in Victoria's events industry will be severely affected by the ending of JobKeeper by this government. In other words, they will be thrown off the JobKeeper cliff by this government. This government is arrogantly throwing hundreds of thousands of workers, of jobs, off the JobKeeper cliff, and this government is arrogantly throwing hundreds of thousands of small businesses off the JobKeeper cliff. But we shouldn't be surprised that the government is throwing events and tourism off the cliff, because it has form.

This is the government that, not that long ago, threw manufacturing in our country off the cliff, when they goaded the car industry to leave. This is the government that has not delivered any kind of plan for good, secure jobs in its now eight years in office. The only plan from this government is the lowest wage growth on record since 2013. The only plan from this government is an explosion of insecure jobs, casual jobs and gig jobs. The only plan from this government is to cut wages and to cut super. That is the record of this government. Australian workers deserve better. They deserve a government that backs them up. They deserve jobs that they can count on and jobs that keep their heads above water.

Question agreed to.