Australia has been performing fairly well compared to other countries around the globe, but with news of Jobseeker potentially being cut down – from the 25th of September – that could quickly change. Primarily, this involves the Australian economy taking a $31.1bn hit (equivalent to 145,000 full-time jobs over 2 years).

The rationale behind cutting jobseeker (Lowering by $300, to $815/fortnight) appears to be that if jobseeker remains, this is disincentivising employment efforts. But this proposition seems to be ignoring the reality that unemployment rates will remain high for a while, not because people don’t want to work, but because there are no jobs available.

Under the current system, people are receiving enough payment to get by, which means they are forced to spend immediately, rather than save up. This has helped enormously in boosting the economy, and served well for the government. Reducing jobseeker would see a decreasing in consumption and therefore companies would need even fewer employees.

Considering the backlash this policy change has received, all eyes are on the government to see what changes take place in the coming few months.