Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why did the government hound robodebt victims to repay money they never owe, when it now says companies should keep JobKeeper money that they used to fund executive bonuses?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In relation to matters that the member raised, the government has taken the necessary steps to correct and to repay the moneys that were collected under that program under the income averaging arrangements that were pursued by the Labor Party—as this House has been reminded on numerous occasions—and practised by members opposite when they were ministers in their own governments. In relation to JobKeeper I make this simple point: when JobKeeper was introduced there was great uncertainty, and the arrangement we put in place was to ensure that JobKeeper could be made under the qualifying arrangements that were set out and agreed to in the legislation before this parliament. Once you do that, once you set out the certainty under which those payments are going to be made, then, after the effect, you don't welsh on that arrangement. That provided much-needed certainty at that time for those businesses to keep people employed. Treasury has advised that some 700,000 jobs were saved because of the certainty and the policy design of JobKeeper.

What I notice from the Labor Party is they like to have an each-way bet on this pandemic. They want to support the government's initiatives and oppose the government's initiatives all at the same time. That's not something that Australians can rely on—an opposition party that has become a fight club, not an opposition, and cannot agree with itself on the measures that the government has been pursuing.

We will continue to deliver the very strong economic supports and the additional measures that we outlined in the economic recovery plan that was in the budget handed down by the Treasurer—the instant expenses arrangements and the loss carryback, which will be vital to those COVID affected businesses so their COVID losses can be offset against previous tax paid, providing much needed cash flow to ensure that those businesses can invest.

The challenges we have now are to ensure that businesses invest and that businesses employ people and that we, as a nation, address the many workforce challenges that we have in the regional areas of our country, where there are indeed shortages, and those who are in the metropolitan areas who we want to get off unemployment benefits and get them into work. That's what we're focused on. That's what our plan is delivering, and I know Australians have gained great confidence from those plans, because they have been voting with their feet to join the economic recovery in this country. Workforce participation, labour force participation, has returned to new record levels, but we're going to go further, because that's where our plans take us. The Labor Party— (Time expired)