It isn’t available to the bulk of the unemployed, it isn’t available to people who’ve been on JobKeeper rather than JobSeeker, and employers can overclaim.
The impacts of the pandemic on jobs and incomes have been so widespread and severe that low-income households can afford very few properties despite rents falling in some parts of our capital cities.
John Quiggin, The University of Queensland; Elise Klein, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, and Troy Henderson, University of Sydney
As debate grows over what should happen to JobSeeker Payment, a ‘liveable income guarantee’ turns the idea of an unemployment benefit on its head.
Peter Whiteford, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The Morrison government says the Coronavirus Supplement won’t last forever. This means JobSeeker Payment will need a huge boost to keep people out of poverty.
Almost 37% of Australian workers do not have paid sick leave. We need to fix this if we want people not to turn up to work when sick during the coronavirus pandemic.
Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have done well with support packages so far. But more might be needed to save the country from the worst of the economic fallout from the crisis.
Peter Whiteford, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Many temporary residents will be excluded from coronavirus support. In this open letter to the prime minister, 43 leading Australian experts on social policy argue this is in no-one’s interests.