JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good afternoon, firstly can I confirm that a record 153,338 Australians have received a vaccination in the last 24 hours. That's a record number of doses that have been distributed. That brings to a total of 5.64 million doses that have been distributed nationally.
Earlier today, I met with the state and the territory treasurers. It was a very constructive meeting, more than two hours in length, where we received a briefing from the Governor of the Reserve Bank about the state of the national economy and also on certain mental health and health related policy issues from the head of the Productivity Commission. We discussed a range of other issues, including reforms in relation to skills as well as red tape reduction for charities. We also discussed a nationally consistent approach to business support in the event of a lockdown. It follows a direction from National Cabinet last week for the Council on Federal Financial Relations, namely the state, territory and Commonwealth treasurers to work through the issues. It was agreed that New South Wales and Victoria would take this work forward and that they would come back with the learnings and reflections from different states' experiences about what worked and what hasn't, and then that piece of work would then go forward to National Cabinet in July. As you know, the Federal Government is providing income support to individuals in the event of a lockdown of more than seven days in a way that is consistent with the Commonwealth hotspot definition. I can confirm that here in Victoria around 50,000 applications have been received, and that over 34,000 have already been processed with money making its way to Victorians' pockets. We did receive a briefing, as I said, from the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Dr Philip Lowe. His outlook for the economy was positive. He said the Australian economy is recovering more strongly than initially expected. He discussed with treasurers the state of our labour market. And in particular, the fact that there has not been dislocation since the end of JobKeeper and that Australia and New Zealand are the first countries to see their employment levels higher today than they were going into the pandemic, pointing out that in the United States the employment levels were still down by around four per cent and the United Kingdom three per cent than they were going into the pandemic. He pointed to economic growth in the most recent National Accounts as being stronger than expected, and that with the accommodative monetary policy as well as the long tail on fiscal policy, particularly, support that’s come from the Federal and the state and territory governments, that the downside risks had declined for the economy. We discussed the state of the housing market and obviously it's very strong off the back of historically low interest rates as well as various Government support programs for construction across the housing market, and the Reserve Bank will continue to watch those matters closely. We also discussed the importance of confidence across the Australian economy. We are still in the middle of a pandemic. And this was very much our thinking when we put together the Budget that was delivered just a few weeks ago, that we must secure the economic recovery, and confidence is key, and what was clear in the National Accounts is that the household savings rate remains high. And as households continue to be more confident and restrictions are eased, then households will continue to spend and that will support the Australian economy as household consumption is more than 50 per cent of GDP. So too with business investment. We saw strong numbers in the National Accounts, particularly around machinery and equipment, up above 10 per cent. But it does remain very important that we continue to suppress the virus effectively to maintain that confidence across the economy. We discussed a number of other issues including in relation to skill shortages that we're seeing in some parts of the economy, as well as infrastructure projects, supply side constraints and the like. It was a constructive meeting, the Commonwealth and the states and the territories are working closely together and we had a very full agenda.
QUESTION:
Just on the disaster payments, Treasurer, many businesses here in Melbourne are still closed. Gyms, gymnasiums, gymnastics, all sorts of other businesses I imagine, many of them are in your electorate of Kooyong which means those gym workers, those workers, they can't get these Commonwealth payments after the CMO lifted the Melbourne hotspot. Will you carve out something for them, and assist these workers, that, through no fault of their own, can't make a buck at the moment?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well a couple of points. The first is, it's the state governments that make the decisions about lockdowns. About which sectors are affected, which parts of the state are affected. And the level of restrictions that remain. We made it very clear that we would provide income support, but it would be done so in a way that was consistent with the Commonwealth hotspot definition and as you know that Commonwealth hotspot for the metropolitan Melbourne area was lifted, consistent with the announcement of the lifting of more broadly the restrictions in Victoria. We have other programs that remain in place, the pandemic leave payment, and obviously the JobSeeker payment. But in terms of our support, it remains as we stated earlier it will be done in a way that was consistent with the Commonwealth hotspot definition and now that the Commonwealth hotspot has been lifted, therefore that has the consequences that follow.
QUESTION:
But I guess for those workers, they don't really care which government they're looking to, they just need wage support. They don't care if it's State or Federal. So why not assist them, if they can't work because of public health restrictions at the moment?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Again those are decisions the State Government is taking. As we discussed today at the Council on Federal Financial Relations, is that the state governments will take responsibility for the business support. And I note they have announced that some of that business support will continue, including to the businesses that you mentioned. But in terms of our income support, it's very clearly defined, it relates to where there's a Commonwealth hotspot and now that hotspot has been lifted here in Victoria, my view is I would love for everyone to get back to work as quickly as possible. I'm really pleased that the kids are now back at school. I had the opportunity to take my daughter to school today, like so many other parents, that's a welcome relief, because the kids were out of school for too long.
QUESTION:
Just on that point, driving around Victoria, are you worried about the impact on the economy in particular on small business?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I'm concerned, particularly as we're in the CBD, the impact that the lockdowns and the restrictions have been having on CBD businesses and as you know, many people are still working from home and you can see that on the streets here and the quicker we can get people back to the CBD in Melbourne as is indeed across the country the better. But yes, I am very concerned about the impact that it has on businesses. I mean, we saw a strong comeback in Victoria, unemployment was above seven per cent last year, then it got down to 5.5 per cent consistent with the national average in the recent employment data. But clearly this lockdown dents confidence. This lockdown hits investment. This lockdown ultimately costs jobs.
QUESTION:
Was this the lockdown the right thing to do or not?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, the Victorian Government takes those decisions. I think it's really important that we try to avoid future lockdowns because of the impact it has not just on the economy but on people's mental health and you're seeing the statistics very clearly about that.
QUESTION:
In terms of the Robodebt settlement being handed down today, what do you make of calls for a Royal Commission into the stuff-up?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, that's what the Labor Party's policy and what they have been saying. But the reality is the Labor Party adopted income averaging when they were in government. It goes back to the Paul Keating days. It's been in practise for more than 20 years. And so I note the court's announcement today. But as the Prime Minister has said, on this matter previously, we apologise for the hurt, the harm that has been caused by the administration of that program. And this is very different when it comes to recovering debts.
QUESTION:
Do you admit, does the Government admit that the scheme was unlawful?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
There hasn't been an admission of that. As you know, both the legal parties, both for the Commonwealth and for those who were bringing the case, there wasn't that admission. What there was is a settlement.
QUESTION:
And why did the Government fight this case against it for so many years?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, there is now a settlement and it has been a practise of income averaging that's been adopted by the Labor Party when they were last in government, as it has been adopted by governments since.
QUESTION:
How do you respond to the fact, though, that the judge has linked your Government's Robodebt program with suicides?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
The first thing to say is suicide, mental health issues, they're very complex. And there are many factors at play. And it's just, they're human tragedies. And I think you have to acknowledge that. But as the Prime Minister's made clear, previously, he apologised on behalf of the Government for any hurt or harm that had been caused by the administration of that scheme. When it comes to recovering debts, it's a very difficult situation. And this process of income averaging had been adopted by previous governments of both political persuasions.
QUESTION:
But the judge has specifically pointed out your Government's program linked with these deaths. Surely you can't just blame other governments on that. That’s something this Government has to take, doesn't it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
As I said, income averaging was a process that has been adopted by successive governments of different political persuasions. Suicides, when they occur, are absolute tragedies. And the Prime Minister's made it very clear that we apologise for any hurt, harm, hardship, that has been caused by the administration of that scheme.
QUESTION:
Did the treasurers raise any issues concerning affordability of housing at today’s meeting?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
The Governor raised more broadly the issue of the housing market. There wasn't a detailed discussion about affordability of housing.
QUESTION:
Just another follow up on housing, would the Government consider some sort of incentive to New South Wales to abolish stamp duty and introduce a land tax?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well we did discuss the issue of New South Wales’ proposals. There was quite an extensive discussion about that and as I’ve said previously, these are decisions that the New South Wales Government is working through now and obviously it’s for them to explain the rationale but also for them to be the first port of call for the funding of those reforms and it seemed to be some support for what New South Wales is doing among other jurisdictions.
QUESTION:
Liberal or Labor or any…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, I’m not going to get into individual ones but as you know, you’ve heard the ACT Government, you’ve heard the Victorian Government speak about these reforms in the past and those are both Labor governments.
QUESTION:
Just, one more on Robodebt if I may, it wasn’t just income averaging though that was the problem though, it was the automation of the process that was the problem, wasn’t it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again,there was a settlement, we’ve said we’ve apologised, the Prime Minister has said that himself, for the harm, for the hardship, for the hurt that has been caused by the administration of the scheme. It is very difficult when it comes to recovering debts but it’s a process that’s been adopted by successive governments and obviously we accept the settlement that has been announced by the court today.
QUESTION:
Can I just ask you, as a Victorian, on the lockdown…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Sure.
QUESTION:
Do you think, given what you said about lockdowns not being the go to sort of strategy, do you think it’s time for National Cabinet to review the strategy of which we treat the virus? Obviously the aggressive suppression can be interpreted in different ways, Brett Sutton looks at that and seems to indicate that his target is getting cases back to zero, do you agree with that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, these decisions about lockdowns are decisions that have been taken at a state level, but lockdowns are the bluntest of instruments, the impact of lockdowns are not just economic, but affect people’s mental health as well, quite substantially, and people in Victoria have asked the question, ‘why us?’ Why have Victorians been subject to four lockdowns when other states have avoided that fate? Indeed, outside of that initial nationwide lockdown, Victorians have been subject to more than 140 days of lockdowns. Yet the average across the other states and territories has been just six days. It’s been the same technology that’s available to different states, it’s been the same virus, it’s been the same hotel quarantine, it’s been the same federal government, that applies here in Victoria as it does to other states. Yet Victorians are scratching their heads and saying ‘why us?’ and I sense with this lockdown, there’s been a different mood among the public. I think the public are getting fed up with the fact that here in Victoria there has been a fourth lockdown and the impact that it’s had. And Victorians are asking the questions when it comes to restrictions - ‘why can they get along to the bottle shop, but they can’t get to the gym?’ They’re asking themselves ‘why can’t people visit their friends and families?’ They’re asking themselves ‘why, after having sacrificed so much, can’t they get it right here in Victoria?’ And you hear the experts talk about what went wrong last year in Victoria and I have to say Simon, what I was really moved by is what’s happening for young kids. I was contacted by a local GP, she’s been quite outspoken, Stacey Harris, who’s talked about the impact that it’s been having on young girls with eating disorders. She’s talked about the impact of having to give kids as young as 12 antidepressants. When you hear professors Russell and others from the Murdoch Children’s Institute to say that the lockdowns and the impact they’re having on our kids is very significant, they can’t understand why they continue. So that’s why it was really pleasing, that kids get back to school. But now I’m focused, as the Victorian Government should be focused, on ensuring that the next time, kids are kept in school, that there’s a lot more work done around the mitigation strategies in the schools so that the kids can continue to interact with their teachers and with their classmates and to continue their learning because as Professor Russell pointed out, it’s the most disadvantaged kids who are most affected. So I think there needs to be a bit more creative thinking here in Victoria in order to ensure that we get about living with this virus, obviously suppressing the virus, but ensuring the damage to people’s lives and livelihoods is kept to a minimum.