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PHOTO: Leading economist, John Quiggin, has warned Australia can’t afford to scrap JobKeeper payments as the “most severe downturn” looms.
A leading economist has warned Australia can’t afford to scrap JobKeeper payments as the “most severe downturn” looms.
University of Queensland professor John Quiggan has warned the world was facing one of the biggest economic downturns in history.
The warning comes after Australia’s latest unemployment figures showed a rise to 7.4 per cent unemployment, raising serious concerns for those on JobKeeper payments scheduled to end in a little over a month.
“This will be one of the sharpest declines we have seen really in the history of modern times,” he told Today.
“We have yet to see of course how long it lasts and it is a somewhat different world, just for example, to the Great Depression which it is being compared to. But because the impact has been worldwide, it certainly will be something where we’re comparing for decades rather than years in terms of its severity.”
Mr Quiggin said the country must now face the question of how to manage a second wave without furthering damage to the economy.
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