Late last month Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released the Commonwealth Government’s Economic and Fiscal Update, showing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our nation’s finances as well as the scale of support that has been provided to prepare our health system and cushion the blow for millions of households and businesses.
The update outlined the extraordinary level of economic support for workers, households and businesses, totaling around $289 billion or the equivalent of 14.6 per cent of GDP.
It also highlighted that the unemployment rate is forecast to peak at around 9¼ per cent in the December quarter although labour market conditions are expected to strengthen beyond 2020.
The economic and fiscal outlook remains highly uncertain. The Government will provide forecasts and projections over the forward estimates period and medium term in the 2020-21 Budget, to be delivered on 6 October 2020.
The Government labelled its response to the global health pandemic as swift and decisive, made possible by its strong budget position leading into the crisis, allowing Australia to outperform most advanced economies and trading partners in health and economic outcomes in 2020.
“This unprecedented economic response has been designed to be temporary and targeted with measures to support individuals, households and businesses through the crisis, without undermining the structural integrity of the budget,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“This includes the $85.7 billion JobKeeper Payment, expanded eligibility for income support payments, the Coronavirus Supplement, support payments for households, temporary cash flow support for employers, and increasing and expanding access to the instant asset write-off.
“More than 960,000 businesses and not-for-profits and more than 3.5 million individuals have been covered by the JobKeeper Payment. As at 16 July, payments totalled over $30 billion.”
Part of the Government’s commitment to the recovery and reopening of the economy is the extension of the JobKeeper Payment and Coronavirus Supplement for those on income support.
Mr Frydenberg said the Boosting Cash Flow for Employers measure has provided more than $16 billion in payments to more than 750,000 employers across Australia as at 16 July 2020.
As part of the government’s economic plan it is also investing $2 billion to give hundreds of thousands of Australians access to retraining and upskilling in sectors with job opportunities, as the economy recovers from COVID-19.
“This investment includes our $1 billion JobTrainer Fund, jointly funded with the states and territories, to provide up to an additional 340,700 training places to help school leavers and job seekers access short and long courses,” he said. We are also expanding and extending the Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy which has supported around 83,000 apprentices and trainees, and around 48,000 employers. As at 16 July 2020, payments totalled $377.6 million.
Economic snapshot highlights important contribution of resources and energy employers: AREEA
Resources and energy employers are proud to be doing their part to keep Australia’s head above water as the Federal Government revealed the extent of the economic impacts of COVID-19.
Australian Resources and Energy Group AREEA notes the economic statement confirming mining investment grew by 4 per cent in 2019-20 and is forecast to grow by 9.5 per cent in 2020-21.
“In extraordinarily difficult times for the economy and society, the strength of our mining, energy and related service supply sectors is on show,” AREEA Chief Executive, Steve Knott AM, said.
“As an industry that delivers the nation $35 billion in taxes and royalties each year, resources and energy employers will continue rolling up their sleeves to remain a key contributor for the nation during these incredibly challenging times.”
Mr Knott said these revenues assist the Government in being able to cushion the societal impact of COVID-19 through continued delivery of support packages such as JobKeeper.
“The much-needed relief measures delivered by the Morrison Government are not only crucial for the economy’s recovery phase, but also for the many impacted businesses who are clinging to survival,” he said.
As today’s economic impact was laid bare, Mr Knott labelled this an unmissable opportunity to identify improvements to our nation’s regulatory processes.
“Regulatory reform will be crucial in coming years during the COVID-19 recovery phase,” he said.
“Professor Graeme Samuel recently released the interim report into the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. This is a prime example of where duplication and red-tape can be addressed and assist with job-creating projects crucial for this recovery.
“Another key area is industrial relations reforms. Providing industrial certainty to new major projects and simplifying enterprise bargaining will be important to supporting job-creating opportunities in the resources and energy sector and the broader economy.
“Through the Government’s IR Working Groups, AREEA is representing the interests of the nation’s mining, energy, and service and supply sector employers in discussions on targeted industrial relations reforms.
