JobKeeper is set to be extended as Treasurer flags another round of support

The $70bn JobKeeper scheme to be extended beyond September, as Treasurer flags another round of economic support.

The $70 billion JobKeeper scheme is set to be extended beyond September with Josh Frydenberg flagging an extra round of economic support in next week’s economic statement.

The $70 billion JobKeeper scheme is set to be extended beyond September, with Josh Frydenberg flagging an extra round of economic support in next week’s economic statement.

The Treasurer told the Australian that the Victorian Covid crisis would deliver another economic shock and threatened to undermine the broader national economic recovery.

“It is clear the economy will need further economic support and we will continue to do what it takes to keep businesses in business and Australians in jobs,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“As we have done every step of the way, we will calibrate our response to the economic and health conditions that we face.

“We know that many sectors will take considerably longer to recover, even after restrictions are eased.”

Mr Frydenberg will next Thursday hand down the first major fiscal and economic statement since the pandemic with the second wave outbreak in Victoria over the past fortnight poised to stall the economic recovery.

“While Victoria has had a serious setback, many businesses in the rest of the country are also still doing it tough as a consequence of the health measures that have been implemented to suppress the spread of the virus,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“There will inevitably be setbacks, but we should be optimistic about our future, our economy is performing better than almost any other developed economy in the world and together we will get to the other side. Complacency is the enemy, vigilance is a virtue.”

It comes as business calls for the Morrison government to bring forward personal tax cuts, introduce investment tax breaks and continue some modified JobKeeper program in next week’s economic statement in a bid to head off a significant rise in unemployment.

The Business Council of Australia is also calling on the government to help ease the “bottleneck” of investment applications caused by foreign companies needing ­approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board due to the tightening of regulations introduced earlier this year in response to the pandemic.

Speaking at a round table titled Road to Recovery and organised by the BCA and The Australian, Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott said business wanted “some form of ongoing stimulus” from the July 23 economic statement.