Enough is enough: It’s time to rein in profligate JobSeeker spending

People line up at a Centrelink office in Flemington, Melbourne, on March 23.

Do not concern yourself for a minute about public finances and how they will be affected by this wild monetary orgy you see unfolding before your eyes. We are all spendthrifts now. Or at least that is how it seems.

The times, dear people, the times; they necessitate the current explosion in spending and this is no time to be a miserly killjoy.

Far better to throw your conservative inhibitions to the wind, shed your fiscally responsible clothes and jump in on the fun — it is party time, and don’t think about the hangover.

Ignore the obvious waste, and definitely do not worry about who will pay for it all in the end, because when the bill finally comes the central bank can just print the money. Everybody wins and nobody loses. Fabulous, isn’t it?

This week, a business owner described to me how, now that her pub can open, the staff, all part-timers, have been rung to roster shifts. They don’t want to come back, though, until after September, or when the JobSeeker payment finishes. This is because, for them, the pandemic has been the best thing that ever happened.

By their calculations, when factoring in rent assistance, JobSeeker and so on, the amount coming in the door is around $1300 a fortnight.

If they come back to work, though, the JobKeeper wage of $1500 a fortnight will be only $200 a fortnight more than what they are getting for sitting at home, and then tax will come out of that $200, so there is no point coming to work at all.

So they are not coming back, actually, and the business has to find new staff who won’t do the same calculations and come to the same conclusions. This may be a bit of a struggle.

Another acquaintance has described to me the scenario he has observed with members of his family and their friends. He sees a group of young women, his daughter and her friends, all at university, who if pressed would have to admit that the pandemic has been an absolute bonanza for them.

Before the virus hit, one used to work a Saturday shift at the campus coffee shop for $320 a fortnight. Now she is sitting at home receiving $1500 a fortnight because the cafe is shut.

One used to work in a clothes shop for $500 a fortnight and now is now sitting at home receiving the $1500. The third was doing two hours a day of after-school care at a local primary school for $520 a fortnight and now is sitting at home, again on $1500.

The prize goes to the fellow’s niece, though, who is only in Year 12 at high school. She used to sell tickets in her local cinema on Saturdays. Now, thanks to COVID-19, she has loads of spare time and the cash to match. With her $1500 a fortnight and no expenses, she hopes to have $10,000 saved up by the time this is all over. Honestly, she must be hoping this crisis never ends.

Lest you think me too harsh on our policymakers, let’s get one thing clear. Everyone from Scott Morrison down has done their best in a bad situation. Our leaders’ hearts have been in the right place and they acted quickly when they needed to. Australia has come through this so much better than we could have ever expected. Still, enough is enough.

At the start of the pandemic, there was no time to get everything right, but now there is time to rein in some of the excess, and tweak a few matters here and there so the obvious wastage doesn’t continue.

It makes no sense to continue to spray money around for a moment longer than necessary.

Further, we must make sure the financial support being given is not counter-productive. Innovation is born out of need, not comfort.

Before too long, we will look back at the amount of money that has been spent in this period and wonder whether it was all really necessary. The examples of shocking waste will be easy to tally up. The government will need to get its answers ready because eventually the data will be out there and questions will be asked.