The Morrison Government’s refusal to change the JobKeeper program to include more casuals will leave workers in the arts, entertainment and creative industry behind and jeopardise the recovery of the sector after COVID-19, the Greens say.
Greens Spokesperson for the Arts Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Government was being wilfully ignorant to how the sector operates and its work structures.
“The Morrison Government needs to wake up to the value of the arts, not only for cultural and social cohesion purposes, but the $112billion it contributes to our economy each year,” she said.
“Workers in the arts, entertainment and creative industry should be valued the same as any other worker entitled to the JobKeeper payment.
“Under the proposed rules, freelancers who are commonly paid on short-term contracts and don’t have an ABN, and casuals employed for less than 12 months will miss out.
“Many hospitality and tourism workers will be in the same boat and these are industries that will also be dependent on the arts and entertainment industry for recovery.
“I urge the Government to fix this before Parliament sits on Wednesday, for the sake of hundreds of thousands of workers who will otherwise be very unfairly left behind.”
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