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Economic rebound stirs hopes of recovery
The Australian economy has emerged from its first recession in nearly 30 years, growing by 3.3 per cent in the September quarter to beat predictions by economists and the Reserve Bank.
The Australian economy has emerged from its first recession in nearly 30 years, growing by 3.3 per cent in the September quarter to beat predictions by economists and the Reserve Bank.
A wage subsidy scheme for businesses that hire unemployed young people has been criticised after Treasury officials confirmed only 10 per cent of the jobs created would be genuinely new.
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Employers who sack older staff to take advantage of taxpayer cash for hiring young workers could be excluded from the JobMaker wage subsidy scheme, while corporations found to have underpaid workers or recently paid dividends to shareholders could also be cut out.
Australians who were struggling to get enough food before COVID-19 are now going hungry more often, with a charity reporting a rise in the number of people reporting going a day a week without eating.
The pandemic budget contains extraordinary measures to boost jobs, confidence and the economy. But hoping a nationwide COVID-19 vaccine will exist in a year is a gamble, writes Michelle Grattan.
Debt is cheap and must be embraced if Australia is to recharge its economy during the worst economic downturn sine the Great Depression, argue Danielle Wood and Tom Crowley.
Millions of Australians will have income tax cuts fast-tracked in a federal budget set to focus on driving business investment and job creation, with an expected wage subsidy to employ young workers.