Labor has always supported wage subsidies in times of economic difficulty.

It was Labor who suggested to the government that it introduce a wage subsidy back in March this year when the government failed to introduce JobKeeper. It is important to note, that the government was not going to have a wage subsidy in response to this economic shock, at all.

It was going to rely solely upon JobSeeker and close the Parliament until August. It changed its mind and Labor welcomed that change of mind and heart by the government. And while we have some reservations about the design and scale of the JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme, any support for unemployed Australians and recovering companies during a global pandemic and a recession is welcome.