HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 25 AUGUST 2021
JobKeeper was the biggest one-off program in Australian history, costing the average Australian household $9,000. It wasn't Liberal Party money; it was taxpayer money, and taxpayers have a right to know how it was spent. In Britain taxpayers know every firm that got their Job Retention Scheme. In New Zealand taxpayers know every firm that got the COVID Wage Subsidy. In the United States taxpayers know every firm that got money through the Paycheck Protection Program.
There's nothing left-wing about accountability. Two out of these three programs were set up by conservative governments. In Britain, New Zealand and the United States they're honest with their taxpayers. In Australia: zip, zilch, nada. That's why Labor moved an amendment in the Senate requiring the tax office to publish the names of every firm with a turnover above $10 million that got JobKeeper.
Australians know that giving JobKeeper to Brett Blundy, Harvey Norman and Solomon Lew didn't save a single job. Dividends to billionaire shareholders and bonuses to millionaire CEOs might help the offshore superyacht industry, but it doesn't lower the Australian jobless rate. What is the Morrison government hiding? Why are they so scared of Australians knowing who got money through the JobKeeper program? Why have they allowed $13 billion to go to firms with rising earnings?
ENDS
Authorised by Paul Erickson, ALP, Canberra.
Showing 2 reactions
Sign in with
Andrew, I would like to suggest that you look at a ‘Lockdown Levy’. (or Pandemic Levy). It could be progressive to allow those with high wealth to contribute to our countries wellbeing .. my suggestion would be to start it at 10% for anyone on an income level $250K or above moving to 25% for those on a $1m plus. Pool the collected revenue and use it to help assist all those people who have been ordered to stay home to bring their incomes up to at 80% of their normal wage. Then the catch phrase "we are all in this together’ might ring true .. we may even prevent Protest and putting more people at risk of catching Covid.
We might find this levy/distribution could also ease peoples worries about their jobs, houses and businesses etc and improving our communities collective mental health concerns and keep us primed to start the economy again the moment we reach our opening/freedom targets.
The Lockdown Levy might highlight an equitable way to our population that those making the Health Orders asking half the population to stay at home as their part of the fight will help/contribute to our coffers whilst they are allowing the other half to continue working earning their normal income.
This might also catch up with a few of those free loading CEOs and Big Company Owners who have greedily stuck their snouts in the taxpayer trough.