EMPLOYMENT SUBSIDIES – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Treasurer warns of subsidy dangers

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Mar-21

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the federal government will continue to provide economic stimulus following the end of the JobKeeper scheme on 28 March. He has flagged further targeted support for sectors that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and says the wage subsidy scheme had ‘stemmed the tide’ of coronavirus-induced job losses. However, he cautions that fiscal discipline is also necessary to prevent higher taxes and higher debt in the future. Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says JobKeeper should have been extended in a "responsible, temporary, and targeted fashion", and he has warned that the Coalition will be responsible for any job losses in coming weeks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ALP cries JobTaker as wage subsidy gets over the line

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 12-Nov-20

The Senate has voted 30-28 to pass the federal government’s JobMaker bill without any amendments, after One Nation and Centre Alliance agreed to back the legislation. One Nation had previously indicated that it would support an amendment proposed by Labor that was designed to prevent employers from sacking existing staff and hiring younger workers in order to qualify for the subsidy. One Nation has rejected suggestions that it made a ‘side deal’ with the government.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor looks to amend JobMaker subsidy over concerns older workers could be sacked

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Original article by Katharine Murphy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 9-Nov-20

Labor has yet to decide whether to support the federal government’s JobMaker hiring credit scheme, which will be debated in the Senate on 9 November. However, senior Labor sources have indicated that the Opposition will seek amendments to the draft legislation to ensure that employers cannot sack older staff and replace them with workers under the age of 35 in order to qualify for the subsidy. The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has called for labour hire firms to be excluded from the scheme, arguing that they could exploit loopholes in the draft legislation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION

Older workers face unemployment crisis exacerbated by JobMaker, experts warn

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Original article by Stephen Long
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 15-Oct-20

Professor Marian Baird from the University of Sydney warns that the federal government’s JobMaker hiring credit scheme will encourage employers to ‘cherrypick’ younger unemployed people when recruiting new staff. She is also concerned that some employers will seek to replace older workers with people under the age of 35 in order to receive the subsidy. Professor Baird adds that the scheme could result in greater casualisation of the workforce, given that there is no obligation for people hired via the scheme to work for the same number of hours each week.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Pressure to extend wage plan to all ages

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 12-Oct-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government will not agree to any concessions to get its JobMaker wage subsidy scheme through Parliament. Labor and the Senate crossbenchers have expressed concern that the scheme could be rorted and is too focused, given that it is only available to employers who hire people aged up to 35. Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says the JobMaker scheme leaves 928,000 older Australians "in the lurch", and says the existing incentive scheme for employing people aged 50+ has been a "monumental failure". Unions have warned that the government’s wage subsidy scheme for apprentices could also be exploited.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Morrison wins crossbench support for jobs plans

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-20

Centre Alliance will back the federal government’s push to extend temporary changes to the Fair Work Act which allow bosses to vary the hours an employee works and the duties they perform. One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts has signalled that he is also likely to side with the government, which would require only one more crossbench vote in the Senate. The industrial relations changes are linked to the government’s revised JobKeeper scheme. The bill will be put before parliament within days.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY

JobKeeper could be expanded to deal with further coronavirus outbreaks

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Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 10-Aug-20

The JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme is now expected to cost $101bn in total, after the federal government agreed to extend it beyond September at a lower rate. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has emphasised the need to gradually phase out government support, although he has not ruled out further extending the scheme beyond March if the pandemic worsens. Labor contends that the government needs a plan to boost employment rather than focusing on the JobKeeper and JobSeeker schemes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Thatcher claim fighting words to Labor, ACTU

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Jul-20

Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson has backed a push to extend temporary changes to the Fair Work Act for employers that will not be eligible for the JobKeeper scheme after September. He has urged Labor and the ACTU to support extending the emergency measures, which allow bosses to vary the hours an employee works and the duties they perform. Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers has expressed concern that the federal government wants to adopt an industrial relation policy similar to that of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU

Frydenberg backs wider IR changes

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 24-Jul-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg identified industrial relations reform as a key priority for the federal government after releasing the economic update on 23 July. He will push for temporary changes to the Fair Work Act to be extended to include businesses that will no longer be eligible for the JobKeeper wage subsidy at the end of September. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has backed the proposal, but ACTU president Michele O’Neil contends that the more flexible workplace arrangements should not be available to businesses that are no longer struggling.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ACTU

Revamp will push 2.5m off JobKeeper

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Jul-20

The federal government’s revised JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme is expected to cost $16.6bn over six months. The new tiered JobKeeper scheme will feature two levels of payment based on the number of hours worked, rather than the existing fortnightly payment of $1,500 for all eligible workers. The lower JobKeeper payments will take effect from 28 September and will be further reduced from early January. Treasury has forecast that the number of people receiving JobKeeper will fall from 3.5 million at present to 1.4 million in the December quarter, and just one million in the March quarter.

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