While the COVID-19 health regulations vacillate from state to state and the business sector rides the rollercoaster of openings and closures, the debate over JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments continues.
It is expected that sometime today Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce the extension of JobKeeper past its September cut off to March 2021.
Reports are also suggesting that the rate of $1,500 will change and so will the people eligible for the payment with cuts expected for part-time workers, casuals, and JobSeeker claimants.
Rumour has it that a new rate of $1,200 per fortnight will be the amount of the extended payment, which will stay at $1,500 until September 28.
The change in the amount comes after a report that a Treasury review of the JobKeeper scheme found almost $30 billion had been paid to workers and that the flat $1,500 wage subsidy dampened incentives to work.
The government says it’s closing what it called a ‘loophole’ under which the wages of some casual and part-time staff actually rose under JobKeeper.
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