Coronavirus: PM Scott Morrison interviewed on unemployment, lifting restrictions

 

Yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to Nine News Australia about various topics that are critical to the quality of life for Australians in the coming months.

 

The interview explains topics such as:

- The unemployment rates of Australia

- The Jobkeeper program

- The easing of the lockdown restrictions

- The serious financial difficulties faced by airlines Virgin and Qantas.

- The reopening of wet markets

 

For more information on any of these topics, the TGL team provides you with a summary below.

 

Unemployment is set to soar to its highest rate in almost three decades, with 1.4 million Australians expected to be out of work. But as Scott Morrison said, the 

 

" JobKeeper program means we will be able to limit that devastation and also we've got the doubling of the Jobseeker program which means that those people that do find themselves employed will be able to gain access to the support that we've never seen in this country before."

 

We are entering a double crisis without precedent: a health crisis and an economic crisis. Our prime minister also adds:

 

"Our balance sheet which means we've been able to bring the budget back into balance, which means we are able to do the things we are doing now and cushion that blow but it is still a big blow. I don't want to lessen that in terms of how we speak of it. It is a serious impact on our economy and it is impacting people's livelihoods. It is heartbreaking, but despite all that hardship Australian's have responded so well and there are doing their best. What we asked them to do over the Easter weekend they did. We are keeping on top of this virus but we've got to keep keeping on top of it and provide the economic supports that we can, the lifeline that we've provided through JobKeeper and Jobseeker to get people through to the other side."

 

For the time being, the Prime minister does not plan to extend the Jobkeeper program to casuals or foreign workers. He considers that they already have access to things like rental assistance and a range of other benefits which means they are certainly not forgotten. Then our Prime Minister goes on to say that:

 

"It is the strongest safety net we've ever seen in this country for those who are out of work which is now in place. We've got the JobKeeper program to keep 6 million Australians connected to their employer, so this is unprecedented in its scale. Over $200 billion has been committed to supporting our economy for people in the economy, their businesses, their jobs to get through to the other side."

 

On a subject that is even more pleasing: the easing of the restrictions of the lockdown. Thanks to the measures established and respected by the Australians, as the Prime Minister proudly points out, the number of new cases per day has been drastically reduced. From 460 on 28 March 2020 to 28 on 14 April 2020. However, the Government wants to avoid the same fate as Singapore or Sweden where the virus has just taken off again. That's why the Prime Minister is asking the Australians to continue to respect the security measures put in place several weeks ago.

 

"We are looking at how that can be achieved but I wouldn't want to mislead people, we are still many weeks to go on this and it's important to keep on top of the virus. While people have been amazing in complying with what we've been asking for, we can't allow that to be eroded by the premature easing of restrictions." says Scott Morrison.

 

In regard to the economic difficulties faced by Virgin and Qantas, the First Ministerial is very clear. Besides sectoral aid to the aviation sector, the Government will not provide personalised assistance to these two companies. He adds that:

 

 "The Transport Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister has been working with those airlines around domestic routes. They've already worked together with them on international routes that are vital not just in bringing people home but also to support much needed freight and transfer of medical supplies."

 

Finally, the Prime Minister expressed his views on the decision of the World Health Authority to reopened wet markets where this virus is supposed to have come from. 

 

"I think that's unfathomable quite frankly. We need to protect the world against potential sources of outbreaks of these types of viruses. It's happened too many times, I'm totally puzzled by this decision. We don't have them here in Australia and I'm just puzzled by that decision but we've got to stay focussed on what's right in front of us and what we are doing here in Australia and the policies we are putting in place and the big responses economically and health-wise."

 

For more information regarding the update, click here or refer to the video below.