Thank you to flight attendants Ben and Zoe for visiting my office to speak to me about their concerns for their job security.

Ben and Zoe have been stood down by their employer because even though they have been impacted by the pandemic, their jobs are not covered by Australian Government aviation industry assistance programs. They are also ineligible for the COVID-19 Disaster Payment.

Their employer and their union – the Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia – have written to Minister for Transport Barnaby Joyce, as have my Federal Labor colleagues Julie Collins MP, Brian Mitchell MP and Senator Carol Brown to appeal for government aviation industry assistance to be extended to maintain the employment of workers like Ben, Zoe and their colleagues. Sadly, those pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

When Treasurer Josh Frydenberg introduced the JobKeeper Payment he said “Australians know that their government has their back.” That’s clearly not the case for these workers.

The Morrison Government must act.