Push for firms with Ballarat presence to pay back JobKeeper

Calls have been growing for the businesses, some of which saw profits increase last year to higher than they were before the pandemic, to return some of the millions of dollars they received as part of the federal government subsidy scheme.

Local federal representative Catherine King condemned the company owners this week, saying: "JobKeeper was supposed to support struggling businesses and keep workers employed, not inflate the bonuses of executives at major companies."

Several have passed profits on to executives in the form of bonuses and have said they have no plans to return any of the funding to the taxpayer.

The companies include Accent Group, the parent company of Athlete's Foot and Platypus among other brands, Harvey Norman Holdings Limited, and Premier Investments, which has brands such as Peter Alexander and Just Jeans under its control.

Premier Investments paid $57 million in dividends to shareholders, while the Accent Group CEO received a bonus of $1.3 million.

The research, carried out by corporate governance advice company Ownership Matters, has highlighted how the JobKeeper supplement helped the companies not only get through the pandemic but in some cases build on their profits.

It found that 66 companies listed on the ASX300 - the index of Australian stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange - claimed JobSeeker in the second half of last year.

Of those 58 continued to make a profit, despite the restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. There were 34 companies that claimed JobKeeper within that time which recorded an rise in profits compared to pre-pandemic times.

For the companies that published detailed data, JobKeeper accounted for approximately 19.8 per cent of the increase in earnings.

Fifteen companies listed with the ASX 300 have said they will return around $100 million in JobKeeper payments. They include Toyota Super Retail Group (which owns Rebel Sport), and the Domino's Pizza chain.

Ms King told The Courier: "Wasting taxpayer money on executive benefits has a real cost. This is money that could have been directed to extending JobKeeper and supporting struggling businesses beyond the end of this month."

Victorian-based federal senator Jane Hume was approached for comment. The Courier was directed instead to remarks made by the Prime Minister, who commended profitable companies paying back JobKeeper claims but would not condemn those that had not.

The supplement - initially set at $1,550 a fortnight - was introduced to help businesses keep employees on their books as the economic effects of the pandemic began to take hold. Rules were tightened last September.

It is one of the biggest federal stimulus programs ever, worth an estimated $93 billion.

The payment will end on March 28.

The Australian National Audit Office is investigating whether the JobKeeper scheme has been overseen effectively.

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