JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good afternoon. These are very difficult days for our nation with more than five million of our fellow Australians in New South Wales who are subject to lockdowns. The economic support package announced by the Prime Minister and myself together with Premier Gladys Berejiklian, and New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrotet will provide significant economic support to both businesses and to households. We as a nation have been through this before and got through this before, and we will now do so again. Today the Australian economy has again displayed its remarkable resilience, its underlying strength. The jobs numbers take into account the lockdown in Victoria but do not take into account the lockdown currently underway in New South Wales. But the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.9 per cent, the lowest in more than a decade. 51,000 new full-time jobs have been created. More than a million new jobs have been created since last May. The youth unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in 12 years, and there are now 160,000 more people in work today than before the pandemic began. The Australian economy has faced its biggest economic shock since the Great Depression. Indeed, we have experienced our first recession in nearly 30 years. But our economic plan is working. There are more people in work today than before the pandemic began, and our economy is bigger today than before the pandemic began. And we have maintained our AAA credit rating. As the lockdown in New South Wales indicates, and the increasing cases here in Victoria and elsewhere across the country, we are by no means out of this pandemic. There is still a long way to go to secure our economic recovery. But Australia's economy is resilient, it is strong, and today's job numbers underline that very fact. Are there any questions?
QUESTION:
If the Victorian Government decides to call a snap lockdown will the measures available to Sydney be available to Victoria?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, as we have said, what we agreed with New South Wales is a template that can be rolled out across other states should they experience lockdowns. We will be making support available to Victoria, and the Prime Minister will have more to say about those details later today.
QUESTION:
What sort of support?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well we’ve discussed these issues today at the National Security Committee and with Expenditure Review Committee members, and we are obviously very conscious of the need, as we have been right from day one of this crisis, to provide the economic support that is required to Australian businesses and Australian households that are in need. But I will leave further comments to the Prime Minister later today.
QUESTION:
Can I just clarify, I know you want to leave it to the Prime Minister but is that health support or economic support you are talking about?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We are providing both health and economic support right around the country right now. What we had a specific discussion today was about economic support as well, and obviously Victoria is not yet in a lockdown and so I will leave those decisions about what happens here in Victoria on the health front to those health officials.
QUESTION:
Do you know if the Premier of Victoria has been in touch with the Prime Minister about the potential lockdown?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I understand the Prime Minister has reached out to the Premier and they will endeavour to have a conversation later today.
QUESTION:
Treasurer, during Victoria's lockdowns the Prime Minister and others in Government have been critical of the length of the Victorian lockdowns and the harshness of restrictions. Given that, do you believe the New South Wales Government locked down too soon or too late?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, the New South Wales Government took decisions based on the medical advice that was available to them. If you look at the experience of New South Wales throughout this pandemic, yes, they are going through an extended lockdown today but they haven't experienced anything like the extended lockdown that we had seen in Victoria over the course of last year. Clearly what happened with the limo driver carrying international aircrew in New South Wales should not have occurred; that's been acknowledged by the New South Wales Government. The public health orders have been changed as a result, namely that the requirement the drivers are wearing masks and taking other necessary precautions. But our focus is on ensuring that those businesses and those households that are subject to these lockdowns, and as a result suffer economically, are receiving the necessary support. What we have shown from day one of this pandemic is that the Commonwealth Government, the Morrison Government, has been prepared to provide extensive unprecedented levels of economic support. More than $300 billion in direct economic and health support we have committed to. In Victoria here they received and we have delivered more than $45 billion of direct economic support. Victoria has received more on a per capita basis through JobKeeper than any other state, and the support from the Federal Government, together with the support from State and Territory governments, together with the accommodating monetary policy has all played a role in seeing a very strong economic recovery. And the fact that today we have seen unemployment come down to its lowest level in more than a decade at under 5 per cent is very significant. We were anticipating in the Budget that the unemployment rate would be 5.5 per cent in the June quarter and around 5 per cent in the June quarter next year. Right now we've seen the unemployment rate at 4.9 per cent. But I also want to make the point that today's unemployment numbers do not take into account the lockdown in New South Wales. We think that it will have an impact on the labour market and we anticipate that to be reflected in the next round of jobs numbers for the month of July.
QUESTION:
What sort of impact do you anticipate?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, it does depend to some extent as to - in terms of the broader economic impact as to what happens with this lockdown in New South Wales, how long it extends. But we have very much focused on ensuring that the New South Wales businesses and households get that support that they need through this lockdown. If New South Wales is successful in beating back the virus and this outbreak, then Australia is the better for it. A strong New South Wales, a strong Victoria, a strong Queensland, a strong Tasmania, a strong South Australia, a strong Western Australia, a strong Northern Territory and a strong Australian Capital Territory all makes for a stronger Australia. That's why I was very disappointed in the comments coming out of the Victorian Premier just in the last couple of days. Because this is not a time for petty politics. This is another Team Australia moment where we should all come together. And indeed the Victorian Treasurer was very supportive of more support going into New South Wales to deal with what is a lengthier lockdown right now in New South Wales than what Victoria experienced just a matter of weeks ago.
QUESTION:
Were you equally as disappointed in the comments of the New South Wales Premier who today said that Victoria hadn't handled the pandemic response very well?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, I think what we need to focus on here is beating back this outbreak in New South Wales. We put aside the politics and we focus on how we can make Australia stronger, healthier, and more prosperous. And the way to do that is to beat back this latest outbreak.
QUESTION:
But you are a Victorian though, you’ve got businesses in your electorate...
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Sure.
QUESTION:
..suffering and maybe still are. I mean, is it frustrating though that you couldn't get a package of equal value up to them in time that Sydney has now got? There is that view out there in the community, Treasurer, that Sydney is getting special treatment.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I'm glad you asked me that question, because the facts are the best antidote to a misperception such as you put to me right now. Firstly, Victoria has received more than $45 billion in direct economic support, including, as I said, more on a per capita basis through the JobKeeper program than any other state. Second, New South Wales not got - did not get any more than Victoria did for the first two weeks of that lockdown, and that's very, very important. They got the same deal in New South Wales as Victoria did for the first two weeks of the lockdown which was the two weeks that Victoria experienced. Thirdly, we offered Victoria a 50-50 split with respect to the economic support package. We were very happy to provide a 50-50 split on business support, and a 50-50 split on income support. Now, the Victorian Government, as it is their right, said to us they would rather go it alone on business support and we would go and provide the income support. That is not what we reached an agreement with, with New South Wales in recent days. And then the fourth point is that we now have a model that we are continuing to simplify and to streamline and provide that support out to other jurisdictions should they unfortunately go into a lengthy lockdown.
QUESTION:
Underemployment continues to rise; how long do you expect that to go for?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we have actually been seeing underemployment come down. Today there was a little - a bit of an increase in it. But our focus has been on trying to get as many people into work in the midst of a pandemic. And the reality is that we have been very effective and successful in that regard with more than one million jobs created since last May. What's very pleasing in these numbers is what's been happening on youth unemployment, with the rate of youth unemployment coming down to its lowest level in 12 years. We continue to see strong female employment and we continue to see a relatively high participation rate which has remained steady in today's set of numbers.
QUESTION:
Do you expect to see wages rising?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I think there is starting to see pressure in pockets of the economy in certain industries on wages. But, again, what we need to do to drive higher wages growth is the unemployment rate down. And before the Budget in May I made a speech on the fiscal strategy where I outlined that our focus was to drive the unemployment rate below 5 per cent. And today we're here. Today we are here with the unemployment rate for the first time below 5 per cent in more than a decade. Now, I spoke about in technical terms the NAIRU as being 4.5 to 5 per cent, and if you can drive your unemployment rate down at those levels you start eating away at the spare capacity in the labour market and you start getting more demand for workers, and that necessarily increases wages. So I think there will start to be a little bit more pressure on wages but, again, it does depend on driving that unemployment rate down.
QUESTION:
Looking to the future, do you think Government will take a more targeted approach to immigration to support domestic workers, given that the unemployment rate has gone down?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the Intergenerational Report that I released just a couple of weeks ago did show that there are some permanent long-term impacts of COVID-19. And one of those is the impact on the migration levels and the population levels because population growth is now at its lowest level in a century. And we've actually seen net overseas migration go negative for the first time in decades. More people leaving the country than coming to the country. And that is a driver of economic growth, population together with participation and productivity.
So the impact on the economy of having a smaller population is not insignificant, but what was in the IGR and is also the Government's intention is to pick up our migration levels, our net overseas migration levels when those borders start to reopen and when it is safe to do so based on the health advice. With respect to skilled workers, there may be opportunities before that to bring in certain cohorts of skilled workers, but, again, we will only do so - like with international students - when it is safe to do so and when it's been obviously discussed and supported with the key stakeholders like business groups, like universities, like state governments and territory governments.
QUESTION:
One more from me. You were at the footy over the weekend. There's been a couple more cases.I suppose how concerning is that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it's very concerning what's happening in Victoria with these rising number of cases understand...
QUESTION:
But in particular the footy, given that you were in very close proximity to....
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yes, well I was not in the area that had been designated of that particular concern. But the fact that people are going to attend a sporting event and may have come into contact with someone with COVID is very concerning. And I will follow the health advice. The health advice has been for those people in that area to go and get tested and it hasn't been for those who were not in that area. If it was, I would have raced off to do it yesterday.
QUESTION:
So you weren't in the member’s reserve?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No, I wasn't, no.
QUESTION:
Because today it's been revealed that two further cases that may have been linked to the MCC but they didn't know because the initial person that infected them -
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Were they outside - I don't think they were outside. Were they outside....
QUESTION:
No, they were in the, in that - you know.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, I will follow - Simon I will follow the medical advice and I wasn't in that particular area.
QUESTION:
Just on the Footy also. Serge Silvagni today, sad news. Obviously, you are the Carlton number one ticket holder. Any sort of words about that? I think you have Tweeted something but -
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yes. I knew Serge Silvagni through his son SOS, and went to, you know, local footy games and - and saw him and his family there. He was a great Australian, a great sportsman, a great Blue, and a - and a premiership player. And he will be really missed. He was a champion on and off the field. Serge Silvagni was an inspiration, as an Italian-Australian or an Australian will tell you, he no doubt inspired so many other migrants to this great country to pick up the boots and pull on the boots and pick up the ball and try to make the best of the opportunities in this great country. And he was a legend of the game, Serge Silvagni. And the Silvagni dynasty lives on through SOS, who is another great Australian and another great Carlton man. And of course their son Jack, who is in our team today and Ben and other members of their team. So my thoughts are very much with the Silvagni family today, particularly with Steve and his wife Jo.
QUESTION:
Can I just ask you a question from our colleagues on behalf of the Federal Government? The report in the 'Guardian' today has revealed a former bikie and missing property mogul, both from Sydney, got a golden passport from Vanuatu last year. While this is a legitimate citizenship for sale scheme, does the Federal Government have any concerns about it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I'm sorry, Simon, I don't know details about that particular case or I haven't seen that particular report. I will leave that to the relevant minister who you can direct that question to.
QUESTION:
I believe you have been briefed by their office.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I haven't. No. Thank you very much.