Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Cormann, the Minister representing the Prime Minister. Yesterday the minister said:

I won't rule out adjustments at the end of the review.

This morning Mr Morrison guaranteed that JobKeeper will remain until September for industries other than child care. Who is correct?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Both of the statements are correct.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They don't understand the English language, seemingly. I made this point over 3½ hours at the Senate COVID committee the other day and I made the point yesterday. I've said it in the media on I don't know how many occasions. Yes, the JobKeeper program is legislated. That's a statement of fact. The JobKeeper program is legislated for six months. We've also said that there was a review which was always scheduled to take place about halfway through the operation of the JobKeeper program. I can't pre-empt what the findings of that review will be. I have not yet seen them. I can't pre-empt what the recommendations may or may not be—indeed, whether there are any recommendations at all. But what I can tell you is that the JobKeeper program is legislated and will be in place for the six months, which we've all said. That statement that I made about adjustments that may be made is not inconsistent with the statement that the JobKeeper program will be in place for six months, which it will.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Gallagher, a supplementary question?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Morrison also said this morning that the review was: 'about how you're implementing the program. There's a lot of administrative issues and things like that.' Was the review directed to consider only implementation and administration, or is it open to the review to recommend that JobKeeper end early for some industries?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I've also indicated publicly, we don't have any proposal in front of us. We're not considering any proposal. We're not expecting any proposal to end the JobKeeper program for any other sector. In relation to child care, it was a specific proposal that was initiated by the sector itself because there was a better, fairer, more equitable way to provide transitional support to that industry given that activity levels across childcare centres had significantly increased again. The reason JobKeeper was put in place for the childcare sector was that, in the context of a drop in activity levels, the childcare subsidy was no longer generating revenue. With activity levels going back up, there is, of course, now a capacity to generate government revenue through childcare subsidies as well as parental contributions as well as a transitional payment of $708 million by the government. So what we're doing here is entirely appropriate. You're argument is that we should keep childcare free forever. (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Gallagher, a final supplementary question?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given it took only three days for Mr Morrison to break his promise to keep JobKeeper until September for childcare workers, can Australians trust Mr Morrison's promise today? Will Mr Morrison rule out breaking his promise to other workers?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I completely reject the premise of the question. Australians know they can trust the Prime Minister and the Morrison government, that we will do everything we can—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We will do everything we can to avoid a second wave of infections, and we will do everything we can to maximise the strength of the economic recovery on the other side.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian people are relieved that they don't have a socialist antibusiness, antigrowth government in government right now to deal with this crisis.