ZCZC
BCN-01
HEALTH-VIRUS-AUSTRALIA-ECONOMY
Echoes of Great Depression as Australian jobless queue for help
SYDNEY, March 23, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Jobless Australians flooded
unemployment offices around the country Monday as Prime Minister Scott
Morrison warned the coronavirus pandemic would cause an economic crisis akin
to the Great Depression.
After a record 29 years of economic growth, Australia is poised to spiral
into recession as the global coronavirus outbreak wreaks havoc on the
country’s economy despite a Aus$189 billion ($100 billion) government relief
package.
In scenes not seen in Australia for decades, queues stretched around the
block at unemployment offices around the country as the forced closure of
pubs, casinos, churches and gyms began at midday on Monday.
An online portal for government services also crashed as job seekers
rushed to register for income support payments, which have been temporarily
doubled by Aus$550 a fortnight to help people cope with the coronavirus
crisis.
With tens of thousands of jobs on the line, Morrison told his compatriots
they faced an economic crisis “the likes of which we have not seen since the
Great Depression”, referring to the global financial meltdown in the late
1920s and 1930s.
“They are lining up at Centrelink offices as we speak — something
unimaginable at this scale, only weeks ago,” he told Parliament.
“They have lost their jobs, many, and we know many more will. This is the
biggest economic shock our nation has faced in generations.”
Services Australia, which operates the social welfares offices known as
Centrelink, said it was “experiencing very high demand” and urged people not
to visit unless there was a “critical need” to do so.
Ahead of closing non-essential services, Australia had already shut its
borders to international arrivals, while some interstate borders have been
effectively shuttered and all non-essential travel is banned.
Morrison has warned the measures would remain in place across the country
for up to six months, with stricter rules looming in an effort to contain the
spread of coronavirus.
He said the “one in a 100-year event” meant that 2020 would be “the
toughest year of our lives”.
Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 has lost 38 percent on coronavirus fears
since its peak in mid-February, falling about 8 percent Monday to lows not
seen since November 2012.
The nation has recorded more than 1,600 cases of COVID-19, with infection
rates accelerating in the most populous states. Seven people have died from
the disease.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0846 hrs