JobSeeker: Scott Morrison says Aussies refusing to work due to higher dole payments - NEWS.com.au

Scott Morrison has claimed some unemployed Australians are refusing to work because the doubled dole payment of $550-a-week is too generous.

As the Morrison Government considers whether to slash the dole back down to $275-a-week, the Prime Minister has warned if the welfare payment is too high some people won’t work.

It follows reports over the weekend that the Government is considering a $75-a-week increase to $350 – a figure that was shot down over the weekend as premature.

RELATED: Follow the latest coronavirus updates

RELATED: ‘Biggest losers’: PM’s message to Premier

The Prime Minister said today some employers had complained that if the dole is too generous then workers don’t want extra shifts.

“Well, on JobSeeker, we doubled the payment with the supplement because we knew unemployment was going to be rising steadily and it has and that’s been devastating,’’ the Prime Minister told Sydney radio station 2GB.

“What we have to be worried about now is that we can’t allow the JobSeeker payment to become an impediment to people going out and doing work, getting extra shifts.

“And we are getting a lot of anecdotal feedback from small businesses, even large businesses where some of them are finding it hard to get people to come and take the shifts because they’re on these higher levels of payment.”

Mr Morrison said it was a balancing act to support newly unemployed people who have little chance of getting another job in the short-term as a result of government enforced economic shutdowns.

“And so we’ve just got to make sure that we continue to provide what is a reasonable level of support in the middle of the worst recession we’ve had since the Great Depression,’’ he said.

“But at the same time, we can’t let the help get in the way that we’re giving to people. And so these aren’t easy decisions. They’re very complex.”

Labor treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers has demanded the government release its plans for JobKeeper and JobSeeker before the Eden-Monaro by-election in New South Wales this weekend.

The Treasury review into JobKeeper has been finalised and the Morrison Government must decide whether to extend it beyond September.

But the PM said there was no rush to announce the package before the by-election.

“Our opponents are going around and stamping their feet and smashing their fists on the table, demanding to know. But they clearly don’t appreciate just how complex and intricate this decision is,’’ Mr Morrison said.

“There are a lot of moving parts. And so the Treasurer and I and the Finance Minister, we’re in constant meetings with constant advice working through all this. I mean, I’ll see the actual report for the first time today that the Treasury has done.”

But the Prime Minister said the $1500-a-fortnight JobKeeper wage subsidy could not remain at the current rate in its current form.

“When you are burning through cash at a rate of almost $11bn a month on JobKeeper then obviously that is not something you can continue in that form forever and that is why the Government is being very careful in the considerations we are having, we are not rushing to any decision, we are working carefully through all the various elements,’’ he said.

“So, obviously, we said at the time it was temporary. It can’t be sustained forever at that level. But equally, we’ve got to look at what’s happening post-September.

“There are a number of industries that will continue to be affected by restrictions, particularly in the aviation sector, in the tourism and hospitality sector, particularly those that were highly dependent on international travel. There’s lots of parts of the events and entertainment industry, the conference business, things like that.

“So those companies are still going to be very down on what their normal turnover is.”

One option is to extend JobKeeper for specific industries but with a new turnover test that would kick off companies that have returned to normal trading.

“Many other companies who are currently on JobKeeper, then thankfully their turnover would have been getting up above those previous downturn levels,’’ Mr Morrison said.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMimQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9maW5hbmNlL3dvcmsvc2NvdHQtbW9ycmlzb24tc2F5cy1hdXNzaWVzLXJlZnVzaW5nLXRvLXdvcmstZHVlLXRvLWhpZ2hlci1kb2xlLXBheW1lbnRzL25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvZjcyZDU3ZTQ4ZDI5YWUzZTIzOGM5OWI4Mjk0MDljN2PSAZkBaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAubmV3cy5jb20uYXUvZmluYW5jZS93b3JrL3Njb3R0LW1vcnJpc29uLXNheXMtYXVzc2llcy1yZWZ1c2luZy10by13b3JrLWR1ZS10by1oaWdoZXItZG9sZS1wYXltZW50cy9uZXdzLXN0b3J5L2Y3MmQ1N2U0OGQyOWFlM2UyMzhjOTliODI5NDA5Yzdj?oc=5

2020-06-29 05:05:27Z
52780883875838

Bagikan Berita Ini