Article 2 – Warnings JobKeeper payments could boost company profits and executive bonuses

The JobKeeper scheme which was introduced in March 2020 for businesses that have a 30 to 50% decline in their revenues are eligible to receive $1500 fortnightly payment for each employee. The $60 Billion Program introduced by the government to keep more Australians in employment and support affected businesses due to the significant impact of the Corona Virus. Investors of the companies are now sceptical as the executives are claiming bonuses whilst keeping their employees on JobKeeper stimulus package. The executives are given a warning as the package is assisting in inflating profit figures resulting in increasing executive bonuses. The Accent Group and Harvey Norman are the ones in the spotlight due to its collection of $30 million and $12 million respectively and increase in earnings by 10% and 20%. The focus of the shareholders will be on the earning reports and how corporations have dealt with executive payments.  

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Public Interest Theory

The public interest theory assumes that competitive incentives are very small and appear to function ineffectively and negatively if the interests of the consumer are overlooked and the value of the population as a whole is overlooked. Consequently, government action is needed to guide and control the economic markets (McKie, 1975, p. 16) . Regulation can improve social welfare, and policy is the product of a cost / benefit study to decide whether the risk of optimising the efficiency of the economy is greater than that of increasing social welfare (Shleifer, 2005, p. 442). The pioneer of the public interest theory author Pigou (1920, p. 5) claimed that when the public requested a reversal of inappropriate procedures the laws be designed for the public interest. Regulations are known to favour society as a whole rather than the concern of any citizen. Instead of making legislation in favour of regulators to protect investors ' confidence, the regulatory authority must represent the interest of the whole community. The idea of the general interest in policy has been the foundation of mainstream public economics and of the socialist and other leftists. It was used to explain the rise of government control throughout the 20th century.