Page 2638 - Week 09 - Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Furthermore, and made increasingly pertinent through this lockdown, this sector requires a considered response from government on its funding arrangements to account for ever-increasing costs. We must not forget the many thousands of Canberrans that are employed by the community sector. That this sector is disproportionately supporting these organisations to retain and properly pay their staff is not only a hallmark of a left-wing progressive government but also a form of economic stimulus too.
This motion also calls on the government to explore options to provide additional financial support to Canberrans on low incomes. We know that making it easier for people to stay home safely is vital to ending this lockdown. We all know that this is not a state or territory government responsibility. Welfare is up to the federal government. It is laid out in black and white in section 51 of the Australian Constitution—not too far below quarantine, actually.
The Liberal-National parties have absconded from their duty to provide a basic level of income to keep people safe, to ensure their dignity and uphold their human rights. The failure of the federal government to do their job by supporting low income workers, people working in the gig economy, people unable to find work, people living on the disability support pension and people who have just lost their casual job has left an enormous hole in the response to this outbreak around the country.
The impact is lived daily here in Canberra, as it is across marginalised communities around Australia, who are all struggling to get by in a pandemic while living below the poverty line. It is outrageous and it is shameful that in a country as wealthy as ours the federal government cannot bring themselves to tax their billionaire mates and ensure our safety and eventually see through to our recovery.
Unlike the spin the feds are pedalling, the problem is not that we are spending too much in this pandemic. The problem is that we are taxing the rich far too little. Credit where credit is due: the Canberra Liberals have been advocating for their community by writing regularly to the Chief Minister on a range of issues. But in scrolling the Leader of the Opposition’s website, there is one letter missing. It is a letter to their federal counterparts calling on them to raise the rate and reinstate JobKeeper. Before my Liberal colleagues get upset about my drawing this Assembly’s attention to the shortcomings of the federal government, it is worth pointing out that the New South Wales Liberal Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, who is no friend of the progressive side of politics, said recently:
People are in danger of slipping through the cracks particularly those on income support that don’t qualify for the current disaster payments. As case numbers escalate or remain stubborn, there will need to be extra financial support from the federal government. We believe that JobKeeper was instrumental in keeping the nexus between workers and businesses.
During the pandemic, billionaire Kerry Stokes made over $570 million. His companies took millions in corporate welfare, like JobKeeper, and cut workers’ wages. Meanwhile, Stokes bought a new jet. At the same time, millions of people lost their jobs. More women lost their jobs than men and did more unpaid work, and one-third of young people went jobless. These issues have not ended just because Scotty from
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