GetUp's National Director Paul Ooosting said:
“Instead of cutting JobKeeper, why not expand it to all the casuals and people on temporary visas who need it? The funds are literally all there.
“Jobkeeper was proof that the money for social spending was always there, there’s no justification to cut these vital funds that are keeping food on the table for families across the country.
“We’ve heard devastating stories of people turning to the generosity of local restaurants providing free food to eat, families who have called Australia home for years now facing homelessness, and workers who’ve lost their jobs, with no way to return home.
“This has been one of the government’s biggest policy failures in this pandemic, now they have the opportunity to step up and do the right thing.
“If Scott Morrison doesn’t use this opportunity to extend JobKeeper to casual workers and people on temporary visas then he cannot say it’s because of the cost."