Scott Morrison reveals why JobKeeper wage subsidies MUST end in March as government debt surges
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison resists calls to extend JobKeeper wage subsidies
- He argued the government needed to reduce welfare dependency, pay off debt
- The program was extended from late September to the end of March this year
Scott Morrison is resisting calls to extend the JobKeeper wage subsidy because he wants to wean Australians off welfare dependency and start paying back soaring national debt.
The Prime Minister is adamant the program will end as scheduled on March 28, having already been extended as part of $177billion worth of spending measures that were introduced to offset the effects of Covid lockdowns.
‘We can’t run the Australian economy on government money forever,’ Mr Morrison told Sydney radio 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley on Wednesday.
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Scott Morrison is resisting calls to extend JobKeeper because he wants to wean Australians off welfare dependency and pay back debt. He is pictured at Winton in western Queensland
‘Before this COVID crisis we were at the lowest level of welfare dependency in 30 years. I want to get back to that as soon as we can.’
JobKeeper was introduced in April as a flat $1,500 a fortnight payment to be passed on from affected businesses to employees who were furloughed during lockdown.
The initial $70billion program covering 3.5million workers was extended under a $16billion sequel plan to cover two million fewer Australians.
‘It’s all taxpayers’ money, it’s all debt and it’s got to be paid back,’ Mr Morrison said.
‘So we’ve got to be very careful with how we deal with these programs.’
Eligibility was tightened on September 28, with the fortnightly payment reduced to $1,200 for those who put in 20 hours or more with those putting in less time getting $750 every two weeks.
The Prime Minister is adamant the wage subsidies program will end as scheduled on March 28, having already been extended as part of $177billion worth of Covid spending measures. Pictured are cafe diners ta Brunswick in Melbourne following the end of lockdown in October
Since the start of 2021, JobKeeper has been diluted further, with staff rostered on for 20 hours or more getting $1,000 as everyone else received $650 a fortnight until March 28.
Treasury’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook is forecasting a deficit of $197.7billion for 2020-21 making up 9.9 per cent of gross domestic product; a level unseen since World War II.
Gross government debt is forecast to surpass the $1 trillion mark by 2022 and comprise more than half the economy.
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