FRYDENBERG:
Good afternoon. Like many Australians I was disturbed to see footage today of two people involved in a scuffle in a supermarket over access to items in the wake of the Coronavirus. This is a time for calm, this is a time for Australians to pull together, to work together, to respect their fellow citizens, to fulfil their responsibilities to their families, to their friends and to their broader community. I understand that some Australians are anxious about the spread of the Coronavirus, but Australians can remain assured that their Government, the Morrison Government, is doing everything possible to ensure that their safety is protected. We were one of the first countries to put in place travel restrictions, and this has ensured that the spread of the virus in Australia has been not as great as what we’ve seen in other countries. We’re putting in place the best possible medical response. The Chief Medical Officers from the Federal Government as well as at the State level, together with Federal and State health ministers, are working on programs to boost the capacity and to ensure that the best possible services and products are made available to those who need it. In terms of the economic response and the economic impact, we know that it will be significant as a result of the spread of the Coronavirus. Australia is not immune, indeed no country is immune from the disruption to global supply chains, to the impact on the tourism industry, to the international students and their mobility and their arrival here in Australia has been delayed as a result of the travel restrictions that have been put in place, as well as the spread of the virus beyond China’s borders. But again we approach the challenges posed from the Coronavirus from a position of economic strength. Our economy has been remarkably resilient in the face of many challenges that have been beyond our control; the bushfires, the extended drought, the trade tensions between the US and China, and now the impact of the Coronavirus. But we saw, just in recent days, how at the end of last year the Australian economy was strengthening and that growth through the year had increased from 1.8 per cent in the September quarter to 2.2 per cent by the December quarter. And we’ve heard from both the IMF and the OECD that Australia’s economic position is sound, and indeed, this has been repeated by the Treasury Secretary, as well as the Governor of the Reserve Bank. So the Government is now working on its fiscal response. It will be significant, it will be substantial and it will ensure support for jobs, support for businesses, support for more investment and support for those who have been affected by the economic impact of the Coronavirus. Are there any questions?
QUESTION:
So when will the Government’s economic stimulus measures be announced?
FRYDENBERG:
That will be announced sooner than later. Obviously, we are working through the details of those particular measures, but what we are working on are measures that will support the cashflow of businesses, that will support the creation of more jobs and keep people in jobs, as well as obviously support those businesses staying in business that have seen the economic impact of the spread of the Coronavirus. What we will not do is be panicked into repeating some of the mistakes of the past. These measures are designed not only to get businesses and the community through the Coronavirus, and its economic impact, but to ensure that they are stronger on the other side.
QUESTION:
So the RBA have been saying for some time that it alone couldn’t do the heavy lifting when it came to stimulating the economy, that rate cuts weren’t the only lever that needed to be pulled. So does the Coronavirus crisis prove that point?
FRYDENBERG:
Well, respected economist, Chris Richardson, has been saying that both fiscal and monetary policy have both been supporting growth. And as you would be aware in last year’s Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook which was pre-Christmas and pre-Coronavirus, we announced the bringing forward of $4.2 billion worth of infrastructure spending, as well as more than half a billion dollars of extra spending on aged care, and also more than $1 billion of additional measures to support the drought affected communities. So we have been spending in those areas that need it most, and we also saw at the end of last year unemployment fell in the December period to 5.1 per cent, and we also saw a boost in the second half of last year to household disposable income, the biggest boost is more than five years, off the back of our tax cuts. So, the combination of the lower interest rates, the tax cuts and our investment in infrastructure is all contributing to economic growth.
QUESTION:
Just in response to the toilet paper fight, do you think telling people not to panic is actually increasing their fears? And also on small business, Anthony Albanese was at a Chinese restaurant today in Sydney calling for support for small business. Is part of the stimulus package going to look at wage subsidies perhaps for businesses that allow workers to stay home to quarantine?
FRYDENBERG:
Well, in terms of the scuffle that you refer to, it’s absolutely critical that people remain calm, that they can be rest assured that their Government is putting in place the measures to protect their safety and to ensure that there is a comprehensive response to the spread of the Coronavirus. We’ve been working with our international counterparts, we’ve been working with medical researchers, we’ve been working with our Treasury officials and a whole range of key stakeholders across the economy to ensure that we are able to keep businesses in business and Australians in jobs. When it comes to Anthony Albanese’s comments, well just a few days ago he was saying there was no need for a stimulus so it’s a bit rich for him now to be saying what we should or shouldn’t be putting into our package. I’m not going to get into the rule in rule out game, other than to say there will be a comprehensive suite of measures that are designed to provide a significant boost to the Australian economy to help businesses stay in business and Australians stay in jobs, because we’re going to get through this Coronavirus and we’ll be stronger on the other side.
QUESTION:
What will you be doing to ensure that any measures to prop up businesses hit by the Coronavirus downturn won’t be bogged down in bureaucracy, similar to the way we’ve seen the bushfire support package?
FRYDENBERG:
It’s absolutely critical that we get that support out as quickly as possible, and the Federal Government has systems to do that. With some of the bushfire packages obviously it was working through the States and, rightly, there are some criteria for particular support. But we’ve also seen a substantial amount of money make its way through to communities, whether its on the health side, whether its for the small businesses that have been affected, whether its been the households who have been impacted, and of course we are substantially helping to meet the costs of recovery with the state governments. So we continue to work well with the state governments to ensure that support is given in the wake of the bushfires, and on this occasion obviously its going to be a federal response and the money will be going through federal mechanisms.
QUESTION:
Are you still poised to reduce the deeming rate and will that be announced as part of the stimulus package?
FRYDENBERG:
Well, the first thing to say is we are giving very strong consideration to changing the deeming rates and that is because we’ve seen a reduction in the interest rates. And the current low level deeming rate is at 1 per cent, and the cash rate has now been reduced to half a per cent. So we understand that when interest rates come down, that is good news for borrowers. I mean the 0.25 basis point reduction we saw the other day, that the big banks have said they’ll pass on in full and we welcome that, will see somebody with a $400,000 mortgage around $700 a year better off as a result of that rate cut in lower interest payments that they have. At the same time people who are depositors and have got their money in the bank, are going to be getting less for it. So we understand the importance of that issue. We did move last year in reducing the deeming rates at a cost of around $600 million to the budget, but you can…
QUESTION:
Will this reduction be about $600 million as well?
FRYDENBERG:
Well, I’m not going to put a figure on it and I’m not going to go into the details of what may or may not be in the package when we announce it, but what I can say is that we deeply understand the pressure that pensioners and others are under, and the impact that the lower interest rates is having on their savings.
QUESTION:
Just on telling people not to panic, sorry I didn’t hear whether you answered that, do you think that with members of the Government and the Opposition standing out telling everyone that everything is fine and go about their day to day lives but seeing all this vision of people stocking up on toilet paper, do you think it’s the right thing to do by telling them to keep calm?
FRYDENBERG:
Well, I think it is important that people remain calm, and that people are reassured that their Government I putting in place all the measures necessary to protect their safety, to ensure that businesses remain in business and Australians remain in jobs, and that we are working with all the relevant officials across Government; state and federal. We are combining our efforts here to ensure that we get through this and we’re stronger on the other side. Of course, I understand that people are anxious, this issue is dominating the media cycle and it is evolving in a way that is unpredictable. Everyone is very conscious of that, and there is definitely a health impact, there is definitely an economic impact, this is a very serious issue. That’s why the Government has responded so quickly and so comprehensively, putting in place travel restrictions well ahead of many other countries around the world, and that has helped ensure that the spread of the virus here in Australia has been much more contained than we’ve seen in other countries.
QUESTION:
In Victoria, we’ve got a Toorak GP that is the latest person to be diagnosed. We’ve been told that he treated 70 odd patients, even though he was displaying flu-like symptoms. So first off, do you think that is irresponsible? And do you think there should be some action taken against him?
FRYDENBERG:
Look, I’ll leave that to the health officials to ensure that, obviously, everyone whose had contact is followed up. That’s the most important thing. Obviously if people are feeling unwell they should go and see their doctor and their doctor will be able to make an assessment about what further tests are required. But I mean the key point here is that people need to remain calm, people need to go about their daily lives. We’ve got some great events here in Melbourne, not just tomorrow but over the course of next week. Tomorrow is the Women’s cricket final and I’ll be there supporting the Australians and I think its just wonderful that they’ve made the final and there’ll be tens of thousands of Victorians and Australians who will be eagerly supporting their national Women’s team. I think that’s great, and we need to go about our daily lives. So too with the Grand Prix in Melbourne, that’s a world event, a world class event, Australia is on the world stage and Australians should feel very comfortable and confident about going about and enjoying their daily lives, I think that’s really, really important. But rest assured this is a serious issue, the Government is taking it extremely seriously, and we are putting in place all measures to protect Australians because first and foremost this is a health crisis which requires a health response. It has an economic impact and there is an economic response. But this is a health crisis and that is why we are focusing first and foremost on the health response to ensure that Australians remain safe. Thank you.