Parliament is set to pass the government's $130 billion wage rescue plan to support six million Australians.
Parliament is set to pass the government's $130 billion wage rescue plan to support six million Australians. A skeleton crew of MPs was flown to Canberra in Royal Australian Air Force aircraft in order to pass the rescue plan on Wednesday. Additional safeguards for workers were put in place overnight following negotiations between the government and workers unions.
More than 700,000 businesses have so far signed up to the scheme, which will provide them $1500 a fortnight per employee they retain during the epidemic. While Labor said it would support the scheme, Opposition leader Anthony Albanese is pushing for a special Senate committee to scrutinise the unprecedented level of spending “to ensure oversight during this period”.
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