COVID-19 JobKeeper policy: Accounting for ‘many voices’ in the community

Abstract

COVID-19 has impeded progress towards achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 10, which seeks to reduce inequalities. Low-wage workers were disproportionately affected by wage cuts, prompting governments worldwide to introduce wage subsidy programs. One of these schemes was Australia's JobKeeper program. Despite initial praise, the initiative was later blamed for intensifying inequities. This paper draws on a Social Semiotic Heteroglossic approach and conducts a social listening analysis to explore public positions on accounting and accountability implications of the scheme on inequalities. Findings from Facebook media articles and comments reveal that public relied extensively on accounting discourse to denounce the scheme as inequitable and demand accountability. Accounting discourses were also used to admonish companies that profited from public funds. Importantly, the positions taken by commenters influenced the position in subsequent articles, prompting journalists to focus on the unequal treatment of larger corporations versus small businesses and welfare recipients. This paper highlights how the public leverages accounting to drive social change and advocate for equitable policies. Further, the paper provides a roadmap for accounting scholars to harness insights from social media. It introduces a theoretical framework for analysing how diverse voices utilise accounting to perceive, resist and challenge formal accountability.