with
BRENDAN O’CONNOR MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRY
SHADOW MINISTER FOR SCIENCE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS
MEMBER FOR GORTON

New data released by the ABS confirms almost half a million jobs have been lost since the virus outbreak and that Victorians are the hardest hit.
 
It makes no sense for Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg to be withdrawing support while Australia is in the deepest recession for almost a century, unemployment is rising, and Victorians struggle.
 
If only they spent as much time coming up with a jobs plan to support the Victorian economy as they spend pointing the finger and shifting the blame.
 
When Victorian payroll jobs have fallen by 7.9 per cent, we deserve better than a Prime Minister more interested in playing politics than finding solutions.
 
Today’s ABS Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia shows that since 14 March:

• Victoria was the state hardest hit with payroll jobs declining by 7.9 per cent.   
• Payroll jobs have fallen by 4.2 per cent and total wages paid has dropped 5.2 per cent.
• Payroll jobs for women declined by 4.1 per cent and male payroll jobs decreased by 4.6 per cent.
• Payroll jobs in the accommodation and food services sector decreased by 21.1 per cent and fell by 14.3 per cent in the arts and recreation industries.
• Payroll jobs worked by people aged 20-29 decreased by 6.6 per cent and those worked by people aged 70 and over fell by 10.9 per cent.

 
The Morrison Government should come forward as soon as possible with a comprehensive support package for Victorian workers, businesses and communities, not leave them in the lurch.
 
It beggars belief that the Treasurer, a Victorian, is prepared to stand by and see more suffering all because he is committed to withdrawing support just as things are getting worse in his home state, not better.
 
Victorians are hanging out for a jobs plan, but all the Liberals have to offer are cuts to JobKeeper, cuts to JobSeeker, cuts to the Superannuation Guarantee, cuts to wages, and a pension freeze.
 
The most important test of the Morrison Government’s management of the recession and its aftermath is what happens to jobs and the businesses which create them.
 
Victorians and Australians more broadly need and deserve a plan from the Morrison Government to promote growth, protect and create jobs, support business and set us all up for the recovery.