Harvey Norman founder responds to criticism over JobKeeper

Gerry Harvey says his business has no moral obligation to pay back millions of dollars in JobKeeper after Harvey Norman’s profits more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The furniture, electrical and whitegoods retailer on Friday reported first-half sales climbed 25 per cent and contributed to a net profit after tax of $462 million for the last six months of 2020 – up 116 per cent on the same time period in the previous year.

Mr Harvey told Tom Elliott the JobKeeper money went to “areas of the business that were suffering” during the pandemic.

“It wasn’t as if it went to Harvey Norman regular shops, that didn’t happen,” he said on 3AW Drive.

“We took a view that the businesses that got the JobKeeper money desperately needed it and the ones that didn’t need it, didn’t get it.”

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