The Conversation
19 Jul 2020, 20:38 GMT+10
The government is set to continue a revamped and re-targeted wage subsidy when it delivers its Thursday economic statement amid massive uncertainty about the trajectory of COVID-19 in the two largest states.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann on Sunday said JobKeeper would be extended but with changes.
"There will be some adjustments to the scheme to make sure it is appropriate for the next phase," he said.
Thursday's statement is being framed when it is unclear whether Victoria, under a new shutdown, will get on top of its second wave - Sunday's tally was 363 cases for the previous 24 hours and three deaths - and things are at a tipping point in NSW, with 18 new cases.
Mask-wearing in public will be compulsory from midnight Wednesday in Melbourne and in the Mitchell Shire.
The NSW government announced late Sunday there will be further restrictions on entering NSW from Victoria. There will be a strict new border zone, tightened permit conditions and stronger enforcement powers.
The doubt about where the COVID-19 situation will go from here makes projecting the economic numbers extremely difficult.
Cormann told Sky businesses particularly severely hit by the crisis would need an extra period of support so they could hang onto their workers.
Towards the end of September - when the JobKeeper program was due to finish - it would be important to reassess which businesses should still be receiving the support, he said.
"In the first six months, irrespective of what happened to your turnover after you initially qualified, you were in.
"But as we go into this new period, there is a need to reassess whether that support is still needed for specific businesses."
The government is trying to set a determinedly upbeat tone. "The situation now is better than what we feared would be the case now," Cormann said.
He said the aid would not be specifically targeted to Victoria, but given the circumstances more businesses there would qualify.
The government is also dealing with the future of JobSeeker which was effectively doubled for the pandemic. It is expected to be lowered but not to the old level.
Cormann said: "The current enhanced JobSeeker arrangements come to an end at the end of September. We will, the same as with JobKeeper, in a responsible fashion, seek to phase this back into a more situation as normal."
Scott Morrison announced at the weekend the parliamentary sitting fortnight that was due to start on August 4 will be cancelled.
He said Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly had advised there would be significant risk in having parliament sit then, given increased community transmission in Victoria and the trends in NSW. Kelly had advised the risks were "unlikely to be resolved in the next month," Morrison said.
Morrison quoted Kelly as saying, "The entry of a high-risk group of individuals could jeopardise the health situation in the ACT and place residents at unnecessary risk of infection. In addition, the health risk to members and senators and their staff from other jurisdictions is a material concern."
The next parliamentary sitting is now scheduled for Augusts 24.
Labor's finance spokeswoman Katy Gallagher said parliament couldn't continue to be cancelled every time there was an outbreak.
She said in light of businesses adapting, "it is going to require parliament to do the same thing".
Meanwhile the Senate committee examining the government's COVID responses, which she chairs, will convene extra hearings.
Author: Michelle Grattan - Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Get a daily dose of Australian Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Australian Herald.
More InformationATLANTA, Georgia: As Covid-19 cases again increase in states such as Michigan and Minnesota, officials have voiced concern about children ...
OTTAWA, Canada: A Canadian appeals court has upheld a Canada-U.S. agreement to turn back asylum seekers.The ruling overturned a Canadian ...
BURBANK, California: Disneyland is set to reopen on April 30 and tickets are now being sold for the first time ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: Committees of the European Parliament handling relations with Britain have approved the EU-UK post-Brexit trade and cooperation deal, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: All U.S. government agencies have been directed to install patches on Microsoft software to prevent hacking into emails.The ...
PARIS, France: French lawmakers are expected to approve a ban on any domestic flight that can be covered by train ...
Hong Kong, April 19 (ANI): One of China's strengths - as an authoritarian communist state - is its ability to ...
Spain's Alex Palou held off former Indy 500 winners Will Power of Australia and Scott Dixon of New Zealand to ...
New Delhi [India], April 19 (ANI): It was on this day, 15 years ago, when former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie ...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 19 (ANI): After registering a six-wicket win over Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), ...
With the release of the first-world-war film Gallipoli in 1981, director Peter Weir could finally shrug off the nickname he ...
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 18 (ANI): Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli lavish praise on Glenn Maxwell after ...