Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on behalf of people in my electorate of Wills who are relying on JobKeeper to keep their businesses afloat. Although it feels like we're moving back to something close to normal in most parts of the Australia, this is not the case yet for many people, many local businesses and many industries. I will give you a couple of examples.

Kristie lives in Glenroy in my electorate. She's a self-employed personal travel manager. Kristie told me that she has kept her business alive thanks to JobKeeper, which is great. Even though it has not fully covered her wage or business costs, she has still admirably kept going to keep it afloat. Kristie's business did not qualify for the COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program. Many travel businesses missed out on this support. Despite this, Kristie has worked diligently to make sure that her clients were looked after as they pursued refunds for cancelled overseas trips. We don't know when international travel will resume, and Kristie is well aware of the challenges ahead for her industry. But Kristie is doing the right thing. She's doing everything she can to work for her clients so she's in the best possible position to get back to work when travel does reopen. But Kristie tells me that, when JobKeeper ends on 28 March, she will most likely have to close her business. She will then be looking for a job and might end up on JobSeeker. Treasurer, I ask you: Is this what you want? Do you want someone on JobSeeker, instead of running a business that they have built up for years and years? I call on the Treasurer to extend JobKeeper support for all the travel industry workers still not able to get back to work.

Another example is Sam. Sam has a family business. Sam and his family own and run cafes and restaurants on university campuses—RMIT City Campus, Brunswick and Bundoora campuses at the University of Melbourne, and campus living Victoria in Carlton. Sam and his family have been in hospitality all of their working lives. They've run these businesses successfully for 22 years. But nothing could have prepared them for the impact of COVID-19 on university campuses. There just aren't enough customers, students on campus, to enjoy a coffee, a burger or a smoothie right now. They are relying on JobKeeper, and, with it ending in March, Sam told me, 'The writing is on the wall for closure.' He said, 'We're hanging by a thread.' If they have to shut up shop, this will be felt not just by Sam but by all of their employees and all of their suppliers. I ask the Treasurer: Will you step in? Will you act to extend support to Sam's business, to hospitality businesses and workers who still can't get back to work? Treasurer, will you save these local jobs?

The government's plan to end JobKeeper on 28 March will hurt so many people. It will hurt family businesses. It will hurt entire sectors—travel, the arts, entertainment, hospitality. I call on the Treasurer to extend JobKeeper in a tailored manner to support those who need it.