JOBKEEPER A KEY LIFELINE

ANOTHER key decision by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his trusty Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, another giant sigh of relief from not just the Gold Coast but all of Australia.

In particular, small business operators, large business operators and their crucial staffing contingents they will rely on to reopen.

As the pair delivered on Tuesday confirmation the wide-ranging JobKeeper stimulus scheme would be retained, you could almost hear the collective exhale around the Gold Coast.

Rather than falling of a “cliff” as predicted come late September when the whopping $70 billion JobKeeper payments had been scheduled to expire, the scheme – albeit at a reduced and more targeted level – will be retained for another six months through to the end of March.

The Federal Government’s landmark policy and arguably its most important in response to the pandemic thus far has enabled untold numbers of businesses to hibernate during the desolate period but particularly on the tourism capital of the Gold Coast. This city watched its entire raison d’etre collapse overnight with its airport terminal traffic slashed by 99 per cent with international travel all but killed off. Now with some domestic services resuming, traffic is back to about 10 per cent of what it was pre-COVID-19.

But the city and the country – particularly with the unfolding calamity in Victoria – are a long way from returning to the economic stability it once enjoyed.

The Morrison Government has made the right call at the time and given everyone further requisite breathing space to ensure as many operations and staff come out the other side intact.