LEON BYNER:
Josh, good morning.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Nice to be with you, Leon.
LEON BYNER:
Now, I want to talk about how you’re now going to do more support for small and medium-sized businesses and the other thing we need to find out, of course, is having offered this, and we’ll find that out in a moment, what’s the process to claim?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, thanks, Leon. Right now we do already have a small and medium-sized business loan scheme in place; more than 70,000 loans have been provided worth more than $6 billion including to businesses across South Australia and it applies to a hospitality business, to a tourism business, to one working in recreation arts just as it does to construction.
LEON BYNER:
Sure.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And the requirement has been that a business needed to be on JobKeeper in the March quarter. Well, we’re now removing that requirement and loans will be provided to businesses with a turnover of up to $250 million and loans can be worth up to $5 million for up to 10 years’ duration with up to the first two years being repayment free. This money can be used for working capital. This money can be used to refinance existing loan agreements, or this money can be used to purchase new machinery or equipment and expand one’s business.
LEON BYNER:
So, no repayments for two years, and what sort of interest is being charged?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it will depend on the borrower and the lender, because we have different banks that have this arrangement that’s available.
LEON BYNER:
Yep.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
But the interest rate has been lower than what would otherwise be achieved in the marketplace, and so the idea is to get a low interest rate and increased access to finance; and with the Government guaranteeing 80 per cent of the loan and the bank the other 20 per cent, the likelihood of somebody being able to get a more competitive rate and greater access to finance is obvious.
LEON BYNER:
Yeah. Look, I worry about the tourism and hospitality sector because they’ve absolutely been kicked in the guts. Have you had a - I know both State and Federal Governments have offered to help and put their money where their mouth is. Have you had a big take-up from our state, South Australia?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We have, obviously commensurate with the size of your state across the national economy.
LEON BYNER:
Sure.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
But you’re right about the tourism businesses. They’ve obviously been prevented from their normal course of business by the fact that people can’t move freely across borders. Now, we put in place, including in South Australia, grants for different businesses, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, in partnership with the Marshall Government. But the best thing you can do for small businesses, including those in the tourism sector, is to see the economy open up in accordance with the plan that was agreed at National Cabinet. Now, I put to you and your listeners: if we don’t open up at 70 to 80 per cent, then what number is it? When are we able to see our kids go back to school? When are we able to see our businesses reopen? When are we able to attend the funerals and weddings of loved ones and when are we able to move more freely across the country? That is why the plan is so important. It gives people hope. They can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And, Leon, we have to have an honest conversation with the Australian people about living with COVID. You’ve heard from the Doherty Institute, who are the leading international experts in their field say that zero COVID forever is unrealistic. And whether you start with 30 cases or 800 cases, you can still reopen safely. Now, that’s what Sharon Lewin and that’s what the Doherty Institute have been saying, and so it’s now up to the premiers and the chief ministers to stick to the plan. I have to say, Steven Marshall has been terrific in South Australia. We haven’t had the same level of cooperation necessarily from other states.
LEON BYNER:
I bet you haven’t.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
But it’s important that people see this as a national endeavour. I don’t know about you on your program, but I’m sensing a change in public sentiment.
LEON BYNER:
Oh, it’s there. No, it’s there.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I think people don’t want to live in lockdown forever.
LEON BYNER:
And they don’t need to. We’ve got masks and all sorts of other options for God’s sake. Really, it would be nice to think that by Christmas, or before, that a lot of these restrictions can be lifted.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely, and that’s why it’s so pleasing to see the vaccination program really gaining momentum. I mean, what we’ve got now is 215 people per minute getting vaccinated across the country.
LEON BYNER:
That’s pretty good, isn’t it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It’s incredible, and more supply of the vaccines are obviously coming on board. And we need to haven’t particularly those in the 20 to 39 year age category because that’s where the transmissibility can be exacerbated and heightened because those people move more freely across the community. But, of course, we need to vaccinate everybody and that’s why – in accordance with the medical advice, of course, but that’s why we’ve focused also on the more vulnerable cohorts first and there’s now 85 per cent of people who are aged over 70 across the country having received the jab.
LEON BYNER:
Well, the other thing I just want to come back to is if you are a small business or sole trader and you need assistance, you’re the Federal Treasurer, what do they need to do to get help?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, of course, they need to go and see their banks, because their banks are participating lenders with the Government in this particular scheme. They’ll have the details. Treasury have also got the details on the Commonwealth Treasury website. And then it’s really important that people go and see their bank, look at their individual circumstances. It’s not for me to give advice one way or the other about whether a loan is suitable for an individual business. But what I do know is what the Council of Small Businesses has said, which is that the program is, in their words, great news because it will help small businesses reopen and rebuild.
LEON BYNER:
So, do you expect that Christmas will be reasonably good this year, because I know a lot of people are hanging out for it because that’s normally the time that we loosen our pockets somewhat? What’s your reading on this?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I think that’s an important goal to be aiming for. And it will require Australians right across the country to continue to do what they’re doing now, which is rolling up their sleeves and getting vaccinated.
LEON BYNER:
That’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, always with some very, very clear and common-sense sentiments.