Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Commonwealth government has a comprehensive jobs plan that is working to protect and create jobs during this once-in-a-lifetime health and economic crisis. At a time like this, a multipronged approach is needed. The Commonwealth government's plan has several aspects, including funding for more apprenticeships and traineeships, a focus on deregulation and cutting red tape, necessary industrial relations reform to create more flexible workplaces, tax reform to give money back to hardworking Australians, investments into infrastructure, and, of course, the economic support packages that have been protecting Australian jobs for many months now. All of these elements will be crucial to ensure that enough jobs can be created to support Australia's recovery out of the worst recession we have faced in almost 100 years.

Today I want to focus on one point in particular—the JobKeeper payment, which I know has protected and will continue to protect jobs in my electorate of Mallee and across the country. Now worth over $100 billion, the JobKeeper program has acted as a lifeline for over 3.5 million people and nearly one million Australian businesses. In the month of May, there were 4,200 businesses in Mallee who applied for JobKeeper. In recent weeks, I've heard from a range of businesses across Mallee who have benefited enormously from the JobKeeper payment. I repeatedly hear that JobKeeper has kept businesses alive, has kept employees in jobs and has facilitated regeneration in an incredibly challenging environment.

Many of the small hotels and motels in Mallee have been hit hard due to a lack of visitors and professional clients. The Junction Motel in Maryborough, operated by Janet McDonald, is almost fully reliant on guests coming out of Australia's capital cities. Janet said that, if it weren't for JobKeeper, she would be fearful for her business surviving. Janet was desperate for an extension of the JobKeeper payment when I spoke to her in July, and I was glad to later inform her of the extension to the program. Janet knows that the tourism industry will be one of the last to recover from this pandemic, due to the ongoing need for restrictions, and she's incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of the Commonwealth government.

I've also heard from Brian Wood, the Director of Wood & Co Real Estate in Swan Hill. His business has been affected by reduced rental income as they negotiate rental relief for commercial and domestic tenants due to the pandemic. Seven of Brian's staff have been retained through the JobKeeper payment. Another business in Swan Hill is Tan's Tucker Box, owned and operated by Tania Hovenden. Tania told me that her business would be closed without JobKeeper. She said the payment was a lifesaver at the start of the pandemic when everything was so uncertain. Trade at her business is still variable due to ongoing restrictions, and she still needs JobKeeper to survive. Tania has been able to retain two staff with the payment and is now confident she will be able to trade out of this crisis into a healthy position.

I also want to welcome the significant infrastructure investments that are being made around the country. My electorate of Mallee has received funding for five projects, totalling $4.2 million. These projects include the Charlton 2020; Burchip Streetscape; Buloke Roads of Strategic Importance; projects in Buloke Shire Council; stage 1 of Our Game Plan in Swan Hill, with its rural city council; Ouyen Livestock Exchange in Mildura Rural City Council; and Woodbine accommodation facilities in Yarriambiack Shire Council. The 12 local government areas in my electorate have also received $18 million in new funding through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program. I know that councils in Mallee are putting this money towards priority projects that will create jobs in the short and long term. Northern Grampians Shire Council, for example, is using the money for numerous infrastructure projects in Saint Arnaud, in the south of my electorate.

The Commonwealth government does have a plan to ensure that Australian jobs are protected and that more are created. This is clearly evident through the success of the JobKeeper payment and the significant infrastructure commitments we've already made and will continue to make through the JobMaker plan. The government has a multipronged approach to solve the challenges facing Australia in terms of job creation, and this plan is leading us out and on the road to recovery.

See this speech in context