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CANBERRA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg handed down the federal budget for the financial year 2020/21 on Tuesday night, declaring that COVID-19 will "not bring Australia to its knees."

Frydenberg announced the long-awaited budget, which was postponed about five months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It includes 507 billion Australian dollars (about 360 billion U.S. dollars) in economic stimulus measures with tax cuts and wage subsidies as the government pushes to lead the economy out of its first recession since 1991.

In handing down one of the most consequential budgets in Australia since World War II, Frydenberg said it would rebuild the economy and "secure Australia's future."

"There is no budget recovery without a jobs recovery. This budget is all about jobs," he said. "Our plan will grow the economy. Our plan will create jobs. Our plan will continue to guarantee the essential services Australians rely on."

He said the crisis has revealed "the invisible strength" of Australians, declaring that the Great Depression and two world wars "did not bring Australia to its knees, and neither will COVID-19."

More than 11 million Australians will receive tax cuts worth thousands of dollars backdated to July 2020 while small and medium businesses will benefit from further tax exemptions.

The treasurer introduced the government's economic recovery plan, which includes a new JobMaker hiring credit to encourage businesses to hire younger Australians, record investments in skills and training, kick-starting investment with the incentives and infrastructure investment to drive jobs.

A total of 2.3 billion Australian dollars (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) will be invested in treatments and potential vaccines for COVID-19 and subsidizing other medications.

Universities will also receive 1 billion Australian dollars (710 million U.S. dollars) in funding for research.

As a result of the unprecedented spending, Australia's budget deficit will hit a record-high 213.7 billion Australian dollars (151.3 billion U.S. dollars) this financial year compared to an earlier projected surplus in the budget for 2019-20.

Net debt is forecast to peak in 2024 at 966 billion Australian dollars (686.4 billion U.S. dollars), 44 percent of the GDP.

"This is a heavy burden, but a necessary one to responsibly deal with the greatest challenge of our time," Frydenberg said.

Australia's unemployment rate is expected to peak at 8 percent in December, down from the 10 percent previously projected before falling to 6.5 percent by 2022 and 5.5 percent in 2024.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who preceded Frydenberg as the treasurer, said on Wednesday that the budget was focused on creating new jobs in the wake of the pandemic.

"That's to ensure the economy can move forward and there will be more jobs in the economy whether you're 55 or whether you're 25, or even 65," he added, saying that the budget has been "temporary and very targeted."

The projections in the budget are based on the government's assumption that a vaccine for COVID-19 will not be widely available until late 2021, until which time Australians will have to continue social distancing.

If a vaccine is rolled out before July 2021, economic activity in Australia could increase by 34 billion Australian dollars (24.1 billion U.S. dollars) but if there is no vaccine activity will be 55 billion Australian dollars (39.1 billion U.S. dollars) lower.

It expects that all domestic borders with the exception of Western Australia will be open by the end of 2020.

"There are always assumptions in the budget. There are assumptions about many things. But this budget is a plan and that plan is not dependent on those assumptions," Morrison said on Wednesday.

"This plan is dependent on doing the things we need to do to get the economy moving and get people back into jobs to cushion the blow of the COVID-19 recession."

Anthony Albanese, the leader of the Opposition Labor Party, on Wednesday said he liked the mental health support in it but the budget was "leaving too many people behind," including the elderly and woman.

"This is a grab bag of headlines but there is no comprehensive plan." Enditem