Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on today's matter of public importance. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we're seeing an unprecedented number of Australians on the jobseeker payment. Many of those people have never been on a government payment previously. People now find themselves on the jobseeker payment through no fault of their own. Thousands have had their hours slashed or their jobs cut. The government made the decision to provide an additional coronavirus supplement of $550 on top of eligible income support payments. It was quite clear, long before COVID-19, that the rate of the jobseeker payment was inadequate. The government's actions are an admission of that. It should not have required a pandemic for the government to realise that an economy and society organised on the principle of 'we're all in this together' is preferable to the attitude of letting the economy decide. It's what we from the Labor Party say every time we're in this chamber. I hope the government will heed the warnings from other jurisdictions—double-digit unemployment and massive drops in GDP—before they make any rash decisions.

Australia has been so successful because we've listened to experts and we've worked together across the economy—workers, employers and unions. But we've heard disappointing and disparaging noises, even from the government, about the rate of JobKeeper and jobseeker. The idea that you could have a six-month program and then just end it abruptly is ridiculous. In fact, it's economically reckless. You can't immediately snap back the payments to half of what they are now. As I stated, the government increased jobseeker payment because they knew it wasn't fair dinkum—that people just couldn't survive on $40 a day. What Labor say is that the coronavirus supplement should be phased out over time and that, when it is, we need to lock in permanent and livable increases to the jobseeker payment.

Some 1.3 million Australians are currently on jobseeker, and it is expected that, by September, another 400,000 Australians will require jobseeker payment. The high rate of jobseeker has actually kept some small businesses in Tasmania, my home state, open during this troubling time, as customers are able to shop at the businesses that they supported when they were still employed. To just snap back the jobseeker payment to the old rate is going to cause extreme hardship for hundreds of thousands of Australians, causing them to miss their rent or mortgage repayments, and making them unable to afford the basics and support local stores, and unable to afford to look for work either.

The Senate Community Affairs References Committee, of which I'm a member, recently tabled the report on its inquiry into the adequacy of Newstart and related payments and alternative mechanisms to determine the level of income support payments in Australia. It made a total of 27 recommendations to improve the level of income support. One of the recommendations in the report says:

The committee recommends that once the Coronavirus Supplement is phased out, the Australian Government increase the JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance and Parenting Payment rates to ensure that all eligible recipients do not live in poverty.

Snapping back the payment to its old rate will be the equivalent of removing $1 billion per fortnight from the Australian economy, and those on the other side need to think about that.

Labor has taken a constructive approach throughout these testing times. We've advocated for those who have been left behind, whether they be casuals and labour hire workers, small businesses, visa holders or those in the arts and entertainment sector. Indeed, the government has taken up many of our proposals, including wage subsidies; better income tests for working families; support for students; telehealth and mental health provision; support for tenants; and an increase in testing. But many Australians are still hurting. It has been a terrible time for those Australians who have lost loved ones, and I pass on my condolences to all of them. It's been really tough for those who have lost their jobs. Our essential workers have shown what heroes they are, each and every one of them, to keep food on our shelves, our hospitals staffed, medicines in our pharmacies and our hospitals running. I thank these workers for their amazing efforts.

But, unfortunately, I fear this government will use the COVID-19 outbreak as an excuse to implement their tired right-wing agenda. They may talk the talk of all being in this together, but they're firmly on the side of their big business mates. Do not be fooled. They want to snap back to the industrial relations policy of Work Choices as well. They want to snap back to a time when workers had no security and no rights at work. It's completely the wrong approach for our country. The end result will be double-digit unemployment, businesses folding and mortgages going into default.