ROAD TO RECOVERY Lifeline to keep wheels turning

A $2 BILLION coronavirus cash boost has been siphoned to almost 110,000 Queensland businesses that remain on life support.

Conceding cash is king for businesses, the Morrison Government yesterday revealed the reach of its CashFlow plan, that aims to stop employers drowning in a tsunami of bills when they have limited trade.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said 109,707 small-to-medium businesses in Queensland had received a $2 billion cash flow boost, and across the country more than $10 billion delivered to more than 562,000 firms.

Eligible business get the financial shot-in-the-arm this financial year and next financial year.

The maximum $50,000 is determined by the amount of PAYG withholdings from wages or the minimum cash flow boost payment of $10,000, whichever is larger.

“The Morrison Government’s CashFlow boost is helping to support more than half a million small and medium businesses employing millions of Australians,’’ Mr Frydenberg said.

“This is an important lifeline to many businesses at this extremely challenging time to help them get to the other side from the economic shock from the coronavirus.

“Our small businesses are the backbone of the Australian economy creating jobs and providing important services not only in our cities but also in rural and regional Australia.

“The Government will continue to help build a bridge to the other side to ensure that Australia bounces back even stronger.”

It comes as Treasury boss Stephen Kennedy told a Parliamentary committee into Australia’s response to the pandemic that the end of JobKeeper in September may not be a “cliff” some were projecting it would be.

Dr Kennedy said more than $8 billion had been paid out under JobKeeper and about $5.3 under JobSeeker.

He said how sectors were recovering was a relevant consideration for the review into JobKeeper.

“As soon as you get into targeting either by a threshold or by a sector, then you have a lot of messiness around the edges, you know, which sectors are in, which sectors are out, just exactly how things apply,” Dr Kennedy said.

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