Budget: Leigh Sales grills Treasurer Josh Frydenberg over JobKeeper
Leigh Sales #LeighSales
Leigh Sales has grilled Treasurer Josh Frydenberg over why companies won’t be forced to repay JobKeeper payments to the federal government despite reaping the benefits of soaring profits during the pandemic.
Companies including Harvey Norman, Mercedes Benz and Ford were condemned for pocketing a combined $57million in emergency JobKeeper payments even though their sales boomed amid the economic downturn.
On ABC’s 7:30 Report following Mr Frydenberg’s Budget announcement on Tuesday night, Sales asked the Treasurer why the Government wasn’t chasing down firms that banked JobKeeper payments as a profit when they ‘never really needed it’.
‘At the time, our priority was to get the money out the door,’ Mr Frydenberg replied.
The veteran reporter said she wasn’t disputing the urgency of sending businesses fast cash, but again asked why the money wasn’t being chased up now.
‘The rules and the law that passed the parliament was that businesses could access JobKeeper based on an anticipated turnover reduction of more than 30%, or 50%, depending on the size of the company,’ he said.
‘It helped stabilise the economy. So we’re not going to retrospectively change the legislation. We’re not going to knock on the door of every small business.’
Sales hit back, saying the Coalition would be outraged if the Labor Party were ‘just writing it off’ and not holding companies accountable.
Mr Frydenberg continued to spruik the success of the JobKeeper program while avoiding answering Sales’ line of questioning.
‘Just because it did do the job it was intended doesn’t mean that it’s flawless or that there wasn’t waste built into it,’ Sales said.
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‘As I point out, if you’re spending at these levels, surely trying to minimise waste and inefficiency has to be an utter priority?’
Mr Frydenberg retorted that the program worked ‘very effectively’ through the tax system before taking aim at the Labor Party.
‘Labor asked us to extend JobKeeper beyond a year. We said no. It was costing, at that time, more than $2billion a month. And we have seen, in the month of April, more than 100,000 people come off income support, even as JobKeeper ended.
‘Labor said they would spend more. They said the sky would fall in if JobKeeper ended. It hasn’t. And that step that we took – that decision we took – has proven to be the right one.’
Harvey Norman’s billionaire founder Gerry Harvey previously defended receiving $14.5million in wage subsidies despite posting a 116 per cent profit increase.
The electrical retailer made a record $462million after tax profit in the six months to December 31 as lockdowns made consumers more inclined to update their home furnishings.
That $248.4million increase – compared with the second half of 2019 before the pandemic – marked a 116.3 per cent half-year net profit surge.
Mercedes-Benz pocketed almost $5 million in JobKeeper payments despite recording a $62.7 million profit in Australia last year – up from a $25 million loss in 2019.
Ford was handed $38 million in JobKeeper last year, while also enjoying a $59 million profit.
Footwear retailer Accent Group also faced pressure to return more than $9million in JobKeeper payments after hitting a record $52.8million in profit in their December half.
WINNERS
Small Business – Incentives to innovate and grow
Taxpayers – Extended relief for low and middle income earners
Elderly – More home care packages and a radical overhaul of aged care system
Women – Steps towards better safety and respect in the workplace
People with mental health issues – Big focus on new types of services
LOSERS
Underemployed – Virtually no mention of underemployment as an issue
Recreation and culture sector – Drop in funding of 19 per cent in real terms over next four years
Sport sector – Drop in expenses of 42 per cent in real terms over four years
National parks – Drop in expenses of 19 per cent over four years
Rural assistance – To fall by 39 per cent in real terms over four years
Air transport – 75.6 per cent dip in expenses over four years
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