Brisbane’s COVID lockdown tests the strength of businesses post-JobKeeper

Brisbane is locked down — a now-familiar routine for capital cities in Australia.

But it is also in an uncomfortable experiment, the first city suffering severe pandemic restrictions since the economy-saving JobKeeper program wound up earlier this week.

“If Brisbane’s snap lockdown (or any other) turns out to be long, then the government may have to consider reinstating JobKeeper or something similar for areas affected,” AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver…