HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DECEMBER 1 2020
Company profits are rising – and so is unemployment. The sharemarket is booming, yet households are battling.
The government is right to say that workers would’ve been worse without JobKeeper. That’s why Labor urged them put it in place. But that doesn’t mean the $100 billion program should avoid scrutiny.
What we know is that some firms got JobKeeper, yet made more money than last year. Gerry Harvey says his firm will double its profits, calling it “the greatest boom I’ve ever seen in my lifetime”. Harvey Norman got $9 million in JobKeeper. Thanks taxpayers.
1300Smiles will double its profits, buy a new dental practice, and pay a stonking dividend. Their founder says it’s all down to his hard work. So maybe he can repay the $2 million in JobKeeper?
The Business Council and the tax office both say it’s wrong to use JobKeeper to pay CEO bonuses. Even insiders are uneasy. After Accent Group got $13 million in JobKeeper and paid its CEO a $1.2 million bonus, 54 per cent of shareholders voted against the remuneration report.
After the National Golf Club collected $1.2 million in JobKeeper and paid out millions to its holding company, the president quit.
How many large firms got JobKeeper taxpayer support, yet increased their profits? The government knows, and it’s about time they told the public.
ENDS
Authorised by Paul Erickson, ALP, Canberra.
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