The aim of today’s announcement was confidence, and confidence is exactly what the government will have given businesses.

This package is a huge $12.1 billion. 

You would already know if you were listening to this show last night that  there is help for any business that can prove revenue is down 30% or more due to coronavirus-related disruption. That help is in the form of wage subsidies: $585 for full time employees or $350 for part time employees, and it lasts for 12 weeks.

The same amount of money for staff who have to self-isolate.

There are tax concessions for business, benefit increases of $25 a week - that’s permanent, doubling of the winter energy payment this year, and a massive injection into health - $500 million.

If there is a criticism of this package it’s that large and complex businesses miss out here. This is not much help to any employer with more than 20 staff

The wage subsidy is capped at $150,000 per business so any business with more than about 21 staff will blow that cap before the 12 weeks is through

Big businesses are being told to go to their banks first, while the government looks at what to do to help them as something of a last resort.

But there will be big businesses who will be brought to their knees by this crisis and might need help: think travel agents with more than 20 staff, hotel chains, restaurant chains, the list goes on.

Still, it is worth remembering that this is clearly just the first in what will be a rolling series of responses. Expect an aviation package later this week, and expect more spending in the budget.

This was a good, reassuring move from the government

It’s almost twice the size of Australia’s package relative to the size of the economy. It’s six times more generous to business in wage subsidies

As far as first steps go, the government knocked this one out of the park.