JOBKEEPER BENEFITS BILLIONAIRES
FOR those of you who are facing the reductions or cutting off of Jobkeeper supports, it is worth noting how our government has rewarded the “big end of town” again over struggling Australian families.
Shoe seller Accent Group took $45m in Jobkeeper with 2020 profits up 40 per cent. The CEO got a million-dollar bonus, shareholders $68m in dividends, $11m of it to Monaco-based billionaire Brett Blundy.
AP Eagers car dealerships got $130m in Jobkeeper with their latest profits up $100m. Billionaire owner Nick Politis got around $17m in dividends.
Investment bank Moelis took $3m of JobKeeper, while paying executives millions in bonuses.
Qube Holdings will give back $17m but is keeping $13.5m. This $5bn company increased in value 9 per cent over 2019.
Harvey Norman paid hundreds of millions of dollars in shareholder dividends yet won’t return the millions it received in Jobkeeper.
About a dozen billionaires have benefited from Jobkeeper, including John Gandel, Solomon Lew and James Packer, in a year when the overall wealth of billionaires has risen more than 50 per cent.
A small number of profitable firms have agreed to repay money, with more than $100m returned. While the opposition is making efforts to get repayments, the government has shown no sign of chasing down Jobkeeper scams. The government won’t say how many firms got Jobkeeper by forecasting revenue downturns that never happened. A revenue drop of more than 50 per cent was required to be eligible.
Finally, the government spruiking gas as a key plank of Jobmaker has given the gas industry $300m in subsidies to “support jobs”. In return the gas industry has cut about 3000 workers, more than 10 per cent of its workforce in a boom production year.
It makes you wonder who this government is really looking after and “representing”.
HERE are the latest results from Bowen Bowls Club and Wangaratta Bowls Club:
Bowen Bowls Club
– Club Singles: D Tuttle defeated D Moody; S Spann def G Munro.
– Wednesday social: K Kirk, L Fordham and D Tuttle def L Mcarthur, J Brabon and S Roome; J Gilbert, A Williams def R Gould, Herb; D Moody, M.rodgers and D.blundell def ME Pratten, B Smith and D Fordham.
– Sunday scroungers winners: T Rogers, L Fordham, D Moody and T Roach.
Wangaratta Bowls Club
– Tuesday, March 2: P Warren and M Wilson def I Laird and C Meredith; J Knight, B Beel and T Crozier def D Beel, M Elphinstone and L Smith; G Kelly, G Colquhoun and M Drummond def R Stitt, I Wheeler and S Roome.
The jackpot didn’t go off.
– Sunday, March 7: W Moulton, J Knight and L Smith def T Bowen, D
Beel and L Danvers; M Elphinstone and I Wheeler def L Land and C Meredith.
The jackpot didn’t go off. On Sunday local pennants were played at Wangaratta with BBC having two match wins, six rinks +21 and WBC having one match win, three rinks -21
– Competition: In men’s pairs M Drummond and A Rolfe def B Myers and B Beel.
In men’s singles M Drummond def K Moriarty.