Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McAllister for her question. Quite clearly, the decision that was made by this government and announced in the July Economic and Fiscal Update for the extension of a number of measures—whether it be the JobKeeper extension or whether it be the extension of the coronavirus supplement—recognises the fact that we understand that the job market is still very, very shallow.

That is not to say that the jobs market has not improved; it continues to improve, with new jobs being created. But I will absolutely agree that the jobs market in Australia remains very shallow. It's particularly evident in a state like Victoria. I have to acknowledge that the Victorian economy and the people of Victoria are going through an extremely difficult time, with the stage 4 lockdowns having a massive impact on their economy and also on the livelihoods and the wellbeing of people who live in Victoria. But, notwithstanding that, Senator McAllister—through you, Mr Chair—the rest of the seven out of the eight states and territories of Australia are starting to see their economies open up as restrictions are lifted, and hopefully we'll see the restrictions lifted even further and we will start seeing the jobs that we want to see return to the economy come back again.

We as a government remain committed to having elevated levels of support for people across the whole of the economy going forward—these announcements have already been made—in recognition of the fact of the circumstances that are before us at the moment. We make no apology for saying to people who find themselves unemployed that we want them to start engaging with the jobs market. We want them to start understanding what opportunities might be out there at the moment. There are areas in our economy where we are seeing significant new jobs being created—and I think Senator Cash pointed out a minute ago the number of jobs that have been created by the recent times—and we will continue to support the Australian people through this pandemic.