About 38,000 desperate Victorian businesses have signed up to JobKeeper since September 1
More than 800 Victorian businesses a day are signing up to the Federal Government’s JobKeeper in a desperate bid to survive, alarming new figures show.
HS Coronavirus News
Don't miss out on the headlines from HS Coronavirus News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Free childcare, no penalty rates: Solving Australia’s jobs crisis
- Death of 38-hour week: Aussies can’t get work full-time
MORE than 800 Victorian businesses a day are signing up to the Federal Government’s JobKeeper program in a desperate bid to survive, new figures show.
Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows since the start of September 31,862 businesses have relied on the wage subsidy scheme for support – the equivalent of an average of 838 businesses a day.
Melbourne remains in stage four lockdown for the 11th week running and many small businesses and retailers fear they won’t survive.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg lashed out at Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, saying Victorians “have had enough” and deserve to be given their freedoms back this weekend when restrictions are set to change.
“Victorians have paid such a heavy price for those failures with hotel quarantine and they’ve been strung along for weeks about the lifting of those restrictions,” he said.
Mr Frydenberg said around 60 per cent all of JobKeeper payments are expected to go to Victoria in the December and March quarters.
Premier Andrews has repeatedly said he will make changes this weekend to the stringent rules but it is unclear if these will impact businesses.
The latest JobKeeper figures showed Victoria has had almost four times the numbers of businesses applying since September 1 compared to NSW.
NSW had 8401 businesses sign up in this period.
The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia’s chief executive officer Peter Strong has penned an open letter to Premier Andrews pleading for businesses to be opened now, fearing if restrictions are not eased it will “create a cycle of poverty and unemployment in Victoria”.
“The current situation cannot and must not be tolerated any longer,” he said.
“Failure to implement a stage reopening of the Victorian economy from this Sunday will result in many small and family businesses in Victoria being forced to close their doors permanently – even before the Christmas trading season begins.
“Victorians must immediately be allowed to live and do business with the virus instead of being locked away in their homes.”
Mr Strong said the catastrophic impact will result in “associated poverty” and harm the “most disadvantaged in the community including families.
He has requested an immediate meeting with the Victorian premier.
The Australian Retailers Association’s chief executive officer Paul Zahra said the jump in Victorian businesses on JobKeeper highlighted the “catastrophic conditions.”
“The Premier has not given any indication that we will see a meaningful reopening of Melbourne’s retail industry next week, even though businesses in regional Victoria have shown they can safely operate under COVID protocols,” he said.
“This is a serious financial and mental health challenge for retailers who have now been in continuous lockdown for more than 70 days.”
At the end of last month JobKeeper payments were wound back from a flat payment of $1500 per fortnight to $1200 for full-time employees.
For those working less than 20 hours per week payments dropped to $750 per fortnight.
JobKeeper is due to end in March next year.
JOBKEEPER IN VICTORIA
May 28 – 225,000
June 25 – 253,842
July 30 – 266,136
August 31 – 278,239
September 30 – 304,510
October 8 - 310,128
Source: Australian Taxation Office statistics.