Coronavirus: Students cash in on $84bn day of action

More than 230,000 students were given a $550 boost to their income as the government ­extended its stimulus package on Monday night.

MPs keep their distance in the House of Representatives during Monday’s sitting of parliament. Picture: AAP

More than 230,000 students were given a $550 boost to their income as the Morrison government ­extended its stimulus package on Monday night.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said new powers would be given to Social Services Minister Anne Ruston allowing her to change the eligibility for the payment by regulation.

Senator Cormann said the government would include people on Austudy, Abstudy and Youth ­Allowance payments.

The change came as the government secured the passage of $84bn of measures to support business, workers and families in a single day of sitting by a reduced 90 members of the House of Representatives and 54 senators.

The House of Representatives waved through Senate amendments shortly after 11pm.

Labor’s Senate leader Penny Wong was a late scratching from parliament because she self-­isolated because of illness, while Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick became the fourth federal MP to test positive to COVID-19.

Scheduled sitting weeks in March, May and June were axed under a new parliamentary calendar released on Monday, with MPs due to next convene on August 11.

Josh Frydenberg said “this is a Team Australia moment” as he presented legislation to parliament that included $550 fortnightly increases to social welfare payments, cash for businesses, wage ­subsidies, one-off cash payments to households and early ­access to up to $20,000 in superannuation.

“We confront an enemy without a flag or face, and we are deploying every weapon in our arsenal to defeat it,” the Treasurer said.

Scott Morrison applies hand sanitiser before getting down to the business of the government’s coronavirus stimulus package. Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese said “we are all Keynesians now” as Labor supported the government’s package, despite attempting to change legislation the party deemed in­adequate. He also attacked the ­Coalition over its opposition to parts of the Rudd government’s stimulus package during the GFC.

“We will be supporting this package despite the weakness that we see,” the Opposition Leader said.

“Our actions stand in stark contrast to the actions of the then Coalition opposition during the global financial crisis.

“We are all Keynesians now, and the government’s rhetoric on Labor’s economic record should be consigned to the dustbin of history, as should their nonsense about the impact of what we did to protect jobs, which, yes, did result, therefore, in us not bringing down budget surpluses.”

Amendments pushed by Labor included provisions to bring ­forward the relief measures from as late as May and to further incentivise employers to retain workers.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers said there were five areas of the package that Labor had concerns about, including the “delay” in spending and the government’s failure to negotiate a third package this week.

Dr Chalmers said payments of up to $100,000 to encourage small businesses to retain staff provided no guarantee the money would be used to pay wages. He said there were “gaps in the package” for students and people on visas.

Dr Chalmers also said a Labor government would not have ­allowed struggling working-aged Australians to withdraw up to $20,000 from their superannuation in the next two years.

“We have concerns that encouraging people to divest right now in a market as weak as it is means that we might be encouraging people to crystallise those losses,” he said. “We’re worried about the difficulties this will create for people in their retirement.”