Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On Tuesday the minister spruiked a number of programs that this government is supposedly using to support tourism and regional tourism. My question to the minister today was simply asking how much of that money has been received by affected businesses. We know that this government is known for making announcements and not delivering, for sending out press releases but not being there to support people in times of need.

The only thing this government has done to save jobs that will be lost when JobKeeper ends is send out press releases about things they are going to do in the future. The minister even talked about earmarking future spending. Those words will be hollow to people who are in Cairns right now and are losing their jobs. We know that 3,600 businesses in Cairns are relying on JobKeeper. Those are thousands of jobs that will be lost in 52 days, when JobKeeper ends. Fifty-two days might seem like a long time to this government, but it is not a long time for a business or a worker who is looking at the prospect of losing their job. In fact, we know there are many businesses in Cairns and around the country that are making decisions right now about making workers redundant. They need to make that decision now; they will not be making that decision in 52 days time. Sadly, today a major operator in Cairns announced that 90 jobs will be lost today. They are considering a further 200 jobs being cut when JobKeeper ends. That's almost 300 jobs in a two-month period that will be lost because this government is withdrawing support.

I've said this before in the Senate and I make the case again: Cairns is a unique region and it is uniquely reliant on international tourism. Seventy per cent of the tourism spend is from international tourists in Cairns. When you speak to tourism operators, as I have done on many occasions over the last few months, they insist that the domestic market will not make up this shortfall in any way, shape or form. They are reliant on international tourists. This idea that they can pivot is nonsense. They will not recover until international tourism recovers, so they're asking for some help. They're asking the government for help.

It should be noted that members of the government have alluded to possible support or even extending JobKeeper. The member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, said extending JobKeeper was 'a no-brainer'. That's what he told people in Cairns, but that is not what this government is prepared to do. The member for Dawson, George Christensen, called for an extension and also for additional support for the Whitsundays, another area that is incredibly reliant on international tourism. The member for Wide Bay, Llew O'Brien, has also called for an extension and for further support for tourism. I say this because what we know is that not only is this government not listening to workers and businesses in Cairns and other places in Queensland but they're not even listening to their own local members.

If you are a Queenslander and you come into this place and say that you represent Queenslanders but you don't stand up for these workers and call for more support for extending JobKeeper in a targeted way that supports these businesses, then you are on the wrong side. You are not on the side of these workers. These workers are in an incredibly desperate situation. We know that many of these jobs will be lost in the next couple of weeks. It's a sad time to be in Cairns. We know the minister for tourism is planning to go to Cairns on Monday next week to make a speech and to talk about all the consultation that they've been doing. My message to this government, the senators opposite and the minister for tourism is: do no not come to Cairns empty-handed. These are jobs that rely on international tourism and these workers are relying on you. So do not come with excuses. Do not come empty-handed. (Time expired)