From his private island in the Caribbean, Richard Branson is attempting to apply for the JobSeeker payment on the Centrelink website.
“This is so complex,” he told DBT. “I’ve given Centrelink a call but I’ve been on hold for hours already.”
The billionaire businessman claims he qualifies for the $1100 fortnightly payment after Virgin Australia went into administration this week, costing around 8000 jobs so far.
“I tried to get the Australian government to bail Virgin out of trouble with no luck,” he says. “Now I’m back on the fucking phone trying to get some assistance for myself.”
Branson is also currently hoping the UK government will step in to bail out Virgin Atlantic, even though he’s worth $4 billion, and bases his businesses offshore to avoid paying tax.
“If I don’t get some assistance I might have to mortgage my private Island,” he says. “What an absolute fucking rort.”