Opinion
Putting extra demands on already stressed unemployed could affect their mental health – and the government knows it. New, tighter rules show it has learned nothing from the robo-debt debacle, argues Peter Martin.
News
Australians were told at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic a year ago that we were ‘all in this together’. But a deep dive into Adelaide’s labour force statistics reveals a tale of two cities, where those living in leafy council areas fared much better on the job front than counterparts in more disadvantaged regions.
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A national drop in the number of people claiming unemployment payments in January and February is expected to be short-lived, with Treasury estimates of up to 150,000 jobs at risk when JobKeeper ends on Sunday prompting calls for more targeted support.
One million employees and 370,000 businesses in Australia were still reliant on the JobKeeper subsidy at the end of January, as employers brace for the scheme to end on March 31.
Welfare advocates have warned federal politicians that the votes of thousands of unemployed people living in marginal seats – including Adelaide’s Liberal-held Boothby – and whose incomes will be cut at the end of March could determine the next election.
Loans and aviation grants are expected to replace JobKeeper payments when the wage subsidy scheme ends on March 31, with the tourism industry fearing tens of thousands of jobs will be lost.
