Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What we've seen from this government—and what we saw from that contribution as well—is a pattern of misleading on this JobMaker policy. We heard it in question time in the response by Minister Payne. The claims that they have been making about this policy have been misleading. This was exposed during Senate estimates. They still continue to claim that this program is going to create 450,000 jobs, when we know through Senate estimates that it is going to provide only 45,000 jobs.

It is further evidence that, with this government, there is the claim and there is the reality. They do it with almost every policy, and the Prime Minister is the worst offender. He is the leader and they all follow suit. They make a big claim about what a policy is going to deliver, but the reality is completely different, and it's often Australians who are struggling, like bushfire impacted communities, who are the ones that are actually left behind.

Labor have been responsible this year; we have been productive because we know that this is a difficult year for Australians dealing with the pandemic. So we have been constructive, where possible. But we've also highlighted issues that need fixing in a constructive way. We were always concerned, from the day this policy was announced, that it has many flaws, and we've highlighted those. There were the false numbers; the false claims; the fact that over one million Australians over 35 will not be eligible for this program; the fact that this credit can go to firms paying big executive bonuses; and many loopholes, some that the unions have identified, which will lead to more insecure work at a time when Australians can least afford it.

As I said, the approach that Labor have taken this year is that we have been responsible and constructive. We have been like that for all the significant policies that the government has put forward. We've put forward amendments to fix these loopholes in a responsible way. To their credit, One Nation supported one of these amendments, the one aimed at protections against being sacked or having hours reduced under the JobMaker hiring credit scheme. That was the substance of the amendment that we put forward and which One Nation voted for on Tuesday.

One Nation supported this on the Tuesday, and they actually put out a statement as well which said the scheme hadn't been properly thought through, had too many flaws and left older jobseekers overlooked and disadvantaged. This was on the Tuesday, and we know what happened by Wednesday: One Nation had backflipped and decided to support the government. It's a disappointing effort from One Nation but, again, as a Queenslander who obviously follows these issues and the role that One Nation play in supporting the government closely, I have come to expect it from them. They always try to find a way, at the end of the day, to justify backing in their LNP mates and the government.

But I think that this time their reasoning deserves special attention. They said that their backflip was based on government reassurances. Let's get this right: Senator Hanson and Senator Roberts spend the majority of their time going around the country and undermining government. They say: 'You can't believe government. You can't trust government. You can't trust them on the Great Barrier Reef. You can't trust them on science.' Basically, that is their message to Australians: you can't trust government. And yet here they are trying to justify in this chamber that their decision to backflip on this issue was because they accepted government reassurances. It does not wash and it is not good enough that One Nation sought to do the right thing on Tuesday and then backflipped under a bit of government pressure.

But the real consequence of this—and this is so often the case with One Nation and the work that they do with government—is that it is Australians who are going to suffer from this, particularly those who are over 35 and struggling to get back into the workplace. I note that there is significant unemployment through many parts of regional Queensland. My most recent trip through Hervey Bay and Bundaberg reminded me of this; there is a significant proportion of that community unemployed, and long-term unemployed as well. The reality is that this government program, with the support of One Nation, is only going to be exploited in those communities. We have high unemployment and people who are desperately looking for work, and the fact of the matter is that this proposal that the government has put forward, supported by One Nation, is actually going to undermine those people who are desperately seeking work in many parts of Queensland. It is shameful of the government and it is shameful of One Nation.

Question agreed to.