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10 things you need to know this morning in Australia

Good morning, and welcome to Monday. Let's set a goal for ourselves this week: do not stuff up as much as the Treasury officials who made what will probably amount to being Australian history's worst accounting error.

1. By now you probably have heard about Treasury's huge error. It was announced on Friday that a reporting error had led to a massive overestimation of the cost of JobKeeper. The department issued a statement revealing the program was only supporting 3.5 million workers instead of the 6.5 million it had originally reported, meaning the wage subsidy program would cost $70 billion instead of $130 billion. The fallout continues this morning.

https://twitter.com/BreakfastNews/status/1264663494835617792

2. Now that the government has a $60 billion windfall, the question turns to what happens next. Many activists and groups believe it gives the government the opportunity to extend JobKeeper to those who fell through the cracks originally – like short-term casual workers, migrants, and those on the disability pension. “Instead of cutting JobKeeper, why not expand it to all the casuals and people on temporary visas who need it? The funds are literally all there,” GetUp! national director Paul Oosting said in a statement issued to Business Insider Australia.

https://twitter.com/AdamBandt/status/1263696923287937036

3. But will the government actually do it? Scott Morrison is resisting. "It's not free money. It's not money that's just sitting somewhere that can be spent," he said yesterday. However, he did flag further support down the line for sectors expected to feel pain into the future, like tourism. "We know that and there are particular sectors that will feel this for longer, particularly those who are particularly dependent on international borders," he said. It may not be 'money sitting somewhere that can be spent', but it's certainly money the government expected to be spending.

4. The SMH reports this morning that hardship assistance given to mortgage holders by lending institutions has basically helped prop up consumer spending. According to data from a real-time spending tracker, those who received mortgage deferrals spent at roughly the same levels as those who didn't – suggesting the economy could be in for a further rude shock when those hardship measures are inevitably withdrawn and spending takes a hit.

5. Sydney and Melbourne are the most vulnerable to sharp property price falls, according to analysis from HSBC. Economists Paul Bloxham and Daniel Smith say this is because the capital cities are more exposed to reduced migration and unemployment as a result of COVID-19. “Although interest rates are at record lows, which should support housing prices, at the same time, the COVID-19 economic shock, stalled migration and rising unemployment are set to weigh on housing demand,” they write.

6. More worrisome indicators on property. Over the weekend, the ABC reported growing pressure on the banks to extend interest-only loan periods as investors face financial hardship amid the coronavirus. Several people are profiled, including a retired school teacher who owns six investment properties who is juggling a decline in property value, decreased rents, and the switch of his loans to principal and interest repayments. Now, I'm no economist, but I think a situation where a whole cast of investors own multiple properties and find the very notion of paying the principals on their loans unsustainable... might not be a good place for Australia to be in.

7. On Saturday, Foxtel officially unveiled its new streaming product, Binge. It's in many ways a surrender to the times – an affordable, Netflix-esque platform for Foxtel's extensive content library, which isn't hamstrung by the ageing Foxtel infrastructure. Time will tell if it turns the tide for the struggling company. Here's everything you need to know.

8. Amid all that, some nice news for you all. There have been just three new cases of coronavirus recorded across the country overnight.

9. The above news comes as the country keeps charging through its reopening effort. For example, New South Wales will allow 50 people in restaurants, cafes and pubs from June 1, whereas in Victoria that number will be allowed from June 22.

10. You might have heard rumblings from over in the UK about Dominic Cummings. In short, he's Boris Johnson's most senior advisor, and he broke the country's coronavirus lockdown to visit his parents more than 400 kilometres away – all while displaying symptoms of COVID-19. Angry MPs are demanding he be sacked, and basically the whole country is melting down about it. Makes our comparatively serene coronavirus recovery look much more appealing, doesn't it?

BONUS ITEM

Yesterday, the New York Times ran with a fairly harrowing front page featuring the death notices of 1,000 coronavirus victims. It's to commemorate the grim milestone of 100,000 dead from the virus in the US.

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1264312206914719745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Got any hints, tips, gossip or yarns for us? Email me at james.hennessy@businessinsider.com.au.