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Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Search Search: Premier urges welfare bonus Christmas splurge By ROD McGUIRK,Associated Press Writer AP - 1 hour 59 minutes ago CANBERRA, Australia - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has urged Australians to go on a taxpayer-subsidized Christmas spending spree as multibillion dollar bonuses in welfare payments begin to flow Monday. The 8.7 billion Australian dollars ($5.6 billion) will be paid to 8 million pensioners and low-income families _ more than a third of Australia's 21 million population _ over 10 days starting Monday in a bid to stave off an Australian recession. While many are expected to use the money to pay off household debt at a time when jobs are at risk, Rudd has urged spending. "Go out and spend the money," Rudd told a public gathering in the southern city of Geelong on Sunday. He predicted 2009 would be a difficult year, with reduced economic growth and higher unemployment caused by the global economic slow down. "We're in tough times, there will be tough times next year," he said. Rudd's stance is a marked change from his position when he came to power a year ago warning that inflation was a major economic threat and that burgeoning household debt was feeding the problem. Australian Retailers Association on Monday backed Rudd's call for a Christmas spending splurge, warning that Australians who saved the money were putting their own jobs at risk. "If people are saving for a rainy day, I can tell them that it's pouring outside," association executive director Richard Evans told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "If they don't spend it, they're likely to put their job at risk." He said sales had been stagnant in recent months and a Christmas surge was needed to keep the retail sector afloat. But critics of the government largess fear that some will waste the extra money on alcohol and gambling. "This, in some areas, to be honest, will turn into a bender that goes over days," senior opposition lawmaker Sen. Barnaby Joyce told the ABC. "And is that how we going to reboot the Australian economy, by bringing that pain home to the kids who have to live in those houses; to the women that have to live in those houses?" he asked. Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Recommend this article Average (0 votes) Sign in to recommend this article » Most Recommended Stories » Related Articles: Asia Pacific Thai opposition looks set to form new governmentAP - 30 minutes ago Clashes mar Indian Kashmir votingAFP - 1 hour 21 minutes ago Premier urges welfare bonus Christmas splurgeAP - 1 hour 59 minutes ago China lodges protest over Dalai Lama meetingAP - Monday, December 8 India slams Pakistan over Mumbai hoax call reportsAFP - Monday, December 8 Most Popular – Asia Pacific Viewed Diamond thieves pull off 100-million-dollar Paris heist Girl, 8, among 17 dead in Manila shoot-out: police Vinnie Jones gets into bar fight over role in X-Men Oil price falls below $40 Climate change: Sci-fi solutions no longer in the margins View Complete List » Search: Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular

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