JobKeeper to end after sharp fall in Ballarat

The subsidy, which was introduced last April as the economic effect of the pandemic started to take hold, officially ends on March 28.

It was designed to allow employers to keep hold of their employees when businesses were operating during the difficult conditions created by COVID-19.

While there have been warnings the subsidy's withdrawal could cause tens thousands of job losses, hospitality and accommodation operators in the Ballarat region have said further redundancies in their businesses were unlikely.

However, one travel agent told The Courier they would be closing their doors permanently next week once the JobKeeper support came to an end.

Since the beginning of the year, the number of people receiving the JobKeeper allowance in the city has fallen sharply.

According to figures from the federal Treasury, there were 8,146 people receiving JobKeeper in January, compared to around 27,814 for the initial phase of the scheme from April to the end of September.

That represents a drop of more than 70 per cent. Jodie Gillett, the chief executive of Commerce Ballarat said the end of the subsidy was "not the cliff edge we expected."

The criteria for claiming JobKeeper tightened significantly in September and then again for the beginning of the year. It was reduced from a blanket of $1500 per fortnight, and now stands at $1000 every two weeks for those working more than 20 hours each week, and $650 for those working less than that.

Some retail operators in particular have come under fire after making significant profits - some of which have been passed on to executives - despite claiming millions of dollars in the subsidy.

Accommodation operators have pushed for it to continue, but have not succeeded in their lobbying.

Iain Gunn, the owner of the Mercure Hotel on Main Road, said that while the venue was well down on its pre-COVID revenue, the business would be viable without JobKeeper.

He said the events and conferencing business still faced serious challenges, but that dining and accommodation were recovering.

The biggest challenge, he said, was finding enough staff, with fewer students and international migrants meaning job vacancies were harder to fill.

Many tourism sites and operators that have traditionally relied on international visitors are thought to be most vulnerable to the removal of JobKeeper.

The biggest local attraction Sovereign Hill has refocused on attracting more domestic tourists since COVID-19 first began.

The Courier approached management at the museum for their view on the impact of the withdrawal of JobKeeper, but they declined to comment.

On Friday, the minister for trade and tourism Dan Tehan talked about targeted support for some of the more vulnerable industries to replace JobKeeper, including $130 million in this quarter for travel agents.

However one local travel agent, who did not wish to be identified, said the support had arrived too late. They will be permanently shuttering their shopfront next week.

"It's a diabolical mess, to be quite honest with you. There's not going to be enough income to keep us going - we just can't sustain it any longer."

They said they would continue working from home for a while, primarily to ensure customers who booked in 2019 and early 2020 received refunds for their holidays.

They said hundreds of travel agents around the country could face a similar choice over the next few months. "The uncertainty of everything is just too much."

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