Casual workers hurt by the Victorian lockdown could be forced to repay emergency payments, but companies who made massive profits throughout the pandemic can keep their taxpayer money.
The Federal Government has promised to chase low-paid workers who incorrectly pocketed up to $500.
But it will not go after companies like Harvey Norman who are refusing to hand back millions of dollars in JobKeeper payments despite making huge profits and handing out executive bonuses.
“Companies who are in a position to pay some of the money back ought to look at doing so where indeed they did benefit out of the overall situation,” Finance Minister Simon Birmingham told the ABC on Friday.
“We don’t go back and change the laws after they have been passed.
“So we are not going to go back and go after businesses, be they small ones or big ones, who claimed funds they were under the law at the time entitled to.”
