Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's an absolute pleasure to be back in the people's house and I share that pleasure with all the Victorians and my friend, the member for Gellibrand, who is behind me today. The reason it's important to be standing here today is that this House needs to know that, in August this year, 16,080 people who live in my electorate are receiving the coronavirus supplement. That means that 16,000 residents in my community are reliant, in this crisis, on government support. I want to make this point really clearly: those 16,000 people deserve that support. As a community, we are in a crisis, but that support does something else. It stimulates and creates jobs for other people in my community. It means that those 16,000 people might stop at a shop and buy something. So, when I hear the Prime Minister today announcing a cut to the coronavirus supplement in December, I say to him, 'Santa, seriously!' Prime Minister, that will reduce these individuals to $715 a fortnight. That's $375 a week for those in a community where the average mortgage is $430 a week and the average rent is $320 a week. Prime Minister, it is too soon. This is the cruellest cut of all. This is not the way we want Christmas in Australia! (Time expired)