Small business interviewed by Neos Kosmos welcomed the federal government announcement yesterday of the $130 billion JobKeeper payment to six million workers who through their employer will receive through a $1,500 flat payment every fortnight.

According to a joint media statement, released on Monday by Prime Minster Scott Morrison and Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, the Job Keeper payment, which is backdated to 1 March, “will be made over to employers for up to six months for each eligible employee that was on their books on 1 March, 2020 and has been retained or continues to be retained by the employer.”

“For workers in the accommodation, hospitality and retail sectors it will equate a full median replacement wage.”

Mr Morrison said in the statement that the JobKeeper payment will “give millions of eligible businesses and their workers a lifeline to not only get through the crisis, but bounce back together on the other side.”

The payment, which is before tax, is earmarked to continue for the next six months.

The Managing Director of Touchdown and Cosmos Tours, Jacqui Preketes, said the payment will help ease the fear of staff members that their jobs were at risk and that there would still be a stream of income over the coming months.

“The most important thing is to keep our staff on board and it will help dissipate their fear for the future,” said Ms Preketes.

She said the company had been successful in bring back its clients from overseas and was now helping to get Greek and African clients back to their home countries.

“We will not accept anyone with an Australian passport. We are helping foreign passport holders to get home,” she said.

She said her staff were currently in the process of postponing bookings as airlines have allowed a year’s extension on tickets that have already been bought.

“We are contacting people to move their bookings, checking their options and processing things from there.

“We have had a few educational and travel groups enquiring about dates in late 2020 and 2021 and that is a positive sign for when things normalise again,” she said.

READ MORE: Australia’s PM announces $1,500 a fortnight “job keeper” payment so that businesses don’t sack employees

Jim Lazogas the manager of Lazogas Real Estate in Oakleigh said the situation has led to him making changes to meet the demands of the current situation and keep his employees on board.

“I decided to change the rosters. I don’t feel comfortable dismissing anyone. We are a family business,” he said.

Mr Lazogas said that yesterday he had a meeting with the staff and  told that he wanted to keep them on.

“If we get rental, we get commission. They have accepted this and are thankful.

“I honestly don’t know how it will work. Before you get the money yourself, you have to pay staff.

“On better days, I made sure we had reserve (from which to pay the staff)  and hopefully…most good business people will do the same thing. At the moment,  it is a proposal … but at the same time  the business has to carry on under these conditions until May. How do you carry through(till then)?” he asked.

A business owner in the hospitality industry who did not want to be identified said that the JobKeeper payment would help the staff but was concerned that having lost 90 percent of its normal business over recent weeks, it would be difficult to maintain the staff payments until the beginning of May even if the amount will be refunded by government.

The Federal Treasurer said yesterday that the JobKeeper programme was launched as of 30 March, “with the first payments to be received by eligible businesses in the first week of May as monthly arrears from the Australian Taxation Office. Eligible businesses can begin distributing the JobKeeper payment immediately and will be reimbursed from the first week of May.”

The business owner who has 30 staff members on the books said: “It is a very stressful time and the payments are one thing we have to do on top of what is going on. It is great that we are helping our staff and getting help as well.”

The business owner said that business was barely ticking over on 10 percent of usual volumes based mainly on drinks and take-away food sales.

“We are a social place and people are used to coming here to eat and socialise. We are not a take-away. We have tried to encourage people to place orders with us through posters, social media and even handing out a take-way menus but, so far, it is not working.”

The General Manager External Affairs/ Policy & Advocacy of CPA (Certified Practising Accountant) Australia, Paul Drum, told Neos Kosmos that the latest measures were defraying the cost of maintaining a salary for the employer.

“This will keep the engine (of the economy) ticking over. It means we can recover quickly from the ashes,” said Mr Drum.

In a statement issued in response to the JobKeeper programme, his organisation said: “The Australian Government’s third tranche of stimulus and safety net measures will go a very long way to ameliorate the dramatic impact that the Covid-19 crisis is having on businesses, workers and their families, and the economy, according to Australia’s largest accounting body CPA Australia.

Mr Drum said the government was underwriting a salary for six months which was backdated to 1 March.

“The employers are getting $750 a week per employee that they do not have to pay,” said Mr Drum.

“The cost of this measure – an additional $130 billion over and above what has already been committed to by governments at all levels is breathtaking – but indicative of the magnitude of the health and economic challenges Australia is facing now and in the future,” Mr Drum said in a statement.

Meanwhile Felicia Mariani, the Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Tourism Industry Council said the package was something everyone in the tourism industry had been praying for.

Tourism has been hammered by major setbacks since early this year because the fires in New South Wales, Victoria and elsewhere caused mass cancellations over the peak summer tourism months. Then, towards the end of January, China in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19  shut travel overseas and Australia followed with restrictions of its own.

“There has been no industry in Australia that has been cut as swiftly and as deeply,” said Ms Mariani. “This is a lifeline for tour operators to help them weather the coming months.”

The industry employs over 230,000 people in Victoria alone, said Ms Mariani and a lot of business had to stand people down.

She said that thanks to the package the industry could recover more quickly once things began to return to normal. Without these measures, it would take six months for business to recover and retrain staff in order to be viable again.

She added that between federal and state programmes there was support for the smaller businesses but there were problems for larger businesses employing 30 staff members or more who were not yet properly covered to keep going.