'Disaster': 928,000 Aussies excluded from Govt's recovery
For more Yahoo Finance stories on the 2020 Federal Budget, visit here.
The Federal Budget’s JobMaker Hiring Credits leaves behind nearly 1 million Australians, with industry bodies and the Labor Party calling for the scheme to be extended to unemployed Aussies of all ages.
The scheme currently offers $200 per week to employers who hire unemployed 16-to 30-year-olds, and $100 per week to those who hire eligible 30-to 35-year-olds.
That leaves 928,000 Aussies out of work over the age of 35, Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the ABC on Wednesday.
"Too many people have been left out and left behind," he said.
The Australian Council of Social Services also criticised the scheme, saying older jobless Australians were excluded from the Government’s economic recovery.
Also read: New ‘JobKeeper’ for young, jobless Aussies
Also read: Aussies to get $500 cash injection
"People without paid work will see no benefit from the income tax cuts brought forward in the budget, which mainly go to people who are lucky enough to have jobs," ACOSS chief executive Cassandra Goldie said.
"The government will need to do more to ensure that we are all in the recovery together."
Instead, the Government should have spent its dollars on raising the JobSeeker permanently and investing in social housing, Mission Australia chief James Toomey said.
“Turning back to $40 a day from 2021 would be a disaster for so many people around Australia,” Toomey said.
“It is too low, and would return too many people to poverty and drive many into homelessness at a time when we should be supporting people’s wellbeing and taking steps towards recovery.
“With the numbers of people staring down the barrel of unemployment predicted to continue to rise, we need an urgent commitment from the Government to provide a permanent and adequate increase of income support payments.”
But Treasurer Josh Frydenberg defended the scheme on Tuesday, saying the the Government focused on the majority impacted by Covid-19.
"We settled on 35, because young people have been particularly impacted by this crisis," he told ABC television after his budget speech.
Make your money work with Yahoo Finance’s daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news.
Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
