JOSH FRYDENBERG:
At over $300 billion, the economic support provided by the Morrison Government during COVID-19 has been unprecedented. The biggest program we have undertaken, indeed the biggest program any Australian Government has ever undertaken, is the JobKeeper program. Today it is supporting more than 3.5 million Australian workers and is an economic lifeline for around 1 million Australian businesses.
The passage through the Parliament tonight, of the JobKeeper legislation, will see this remarkable program extended and expanded for another six months. There's also critical industrial relations flexibility arrangements that come with this legislation and that's going to be absolutely critical to our economic recovery. The passage of the legislation tonight is going to give confidence and certainty to millions of Australian workers and provide hope for our economic recovery. Christian.
CHRISTIAN PORTER:
Thanks, Josh. And as the Treasurer noted in the first round of JobKeeper, quite fundamentally new flexibilities were introduced into the Fair Work Act and that allowed an enormous number of jobs to be saved because businesses who were struggling were able for the first time to direct in a cooperative and sensible fashion with their employees, their employees on the hours of their work, the duties, the location. All of those businesses that requalify for JobKeeper will get essentially those same flexibilities and then the flexibilities are preserved in a sensible, protected form for those businesses who come out of the JobKeeper scheme. So formally, if you're a business and you were suffering a 70 per cent downturn in your turnover, now you're starting to trade out but you're still in a very difficult situation. You might be 20 per cent down in your turnover. You'll be able to access those flexibilities and direct particularly with protections on hours. And that will, we think, will save many, many businesses and an enormous number of jobs. I'm really pleased for those businesses, who whilst they come out of JobKeeper are still able to access those flexibilities in what we will think will be business-saving policy.
QUESTION:
Treasurer, are you confident JobKeeper won't have to be extended past March next year?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It's always been a temporary program, it has always been a targeted program and it has always been scalable. What we have done is expanded and extended this program based on the circumstances that we find ourselves in. So the extension of the program till the end of March, I think, is going to be a great relief to millions of Australian workers. As we know, economic conditions in Victoria right now are really tough. And it's Treasury's estimate there will be more workers in Victoria who are on JobKeeper in the subsequent months than all those workers from other states combined who are on JobKeeper. Our focus is on helping Victoria suppress the number of new cases to make headway in the pathway to economic recovery and we believe that as we get the virus under control and restrictions are starting to ease, people will get back to work and then you won't need JobKeeper into the future.
QUESTION:
Treasurer, with the first tranche of JobKeeper, there were concerns about the payment being abused by employers, pressuring employees to accept the payment on their terms and take a portion of the payment and so on. What is your response to those concerns and can you guarantee we won't see the same abuses continuing as this program is expanded?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well as you know, the ATO conduct their normal compliance activities. But what we have seen so far is that the JobKeeper program has performed a remarkable job. They're not my words. They're the words of the Governor of the Reserve Bank. Now of course we want profitable businesses because profitable businesses employ people. But our focus has been about maintaining that formal relationship between employer and employee. That's what JobKeeper has done. And together with the other economic support programs that we have undertaken, Treasury estimate that we have saved some 700,000 jobs and prevented the unemployment rate being 5 per cent higher than it is today.
QUESTION:
Treasurer, Facebook's threat to walk away from Australia's media, if it does that, doesn't that undermine the ACCC and the Government's entire strategy to deal with these big digital platforms and what will you do about it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well I've obviously seen those comments from Facebook and the other activities of Google. Australia makes laws that advance our national interest and we won't be responding to coercion or heavy-handed tactics wherever they come from. As you know, the ACCC undertook an 18-month inquiry into the digital platforms. That inquiry and subsequent consultation is the basis for our reforms going forward. The basis for the negotiating arbitration type arrangement. We want a sustainable media environment and key to that is to see payment for original journalistic content. And so we're committed to these reforms. We won't be bullied no matter how big the international company is. No matter how powerful they are. No matter how valuable they are. We recognise the technology and the services provided by Facebook and Google are great. People love them. And we want those to continue here in Australia. But we also believe our world leading reforms based on the work of the ACCC is the future for a more sustainable media environment.
QUESTION:
If Facebook is going to make threats like this, should Australian consumers switch off Facebook?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Australian consumers will make their own choices about which services they consume. Make no mistake, Facebook, Google provide wonderful services to Australians, indeed to people right around the world. But what we have sought to do is undertake evidence-based reform. Evidence-based reform. And the ACCC has done world-leading work in putting forward a model which we are seeking to implement.
QUESTION:
Do you think it’s appropriate that businesses receiving JobKeeper give out massive bonuses to executives?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
This very question was asked of the Governor of the Reserve Bank here in a Parliamentary Inquiry…
QUESTION:
Do you think it’s appropriate?
JOSH FRYDEBERG:
and my view is we want businesses to be profitable but it's up to businesses who are accountable to their shareholders, to their owners to take decisions about how much they pay their executives and how they distribute the dividends.
QUESTION:
What about Australia Post, because that's a business that government can have some say in, they're talking about big bonuses?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, they will make those decisions at a board level. What we are seeking to do with JobKeeper is to provide an economic lifeline right now to more than 3.5 million Australian workers.
QUESTION:
Attorney, can I ask about the industrial relations roundtables. Some of the participants have expressed that not enough agreement is being reached to have a grand bargain on a whole package and that it’s more likely they'll come up with a set of options that unions won't necessarily sign up to. Is this process working out as you intended?
CHRISTIAN PORTER:
Well, I think that's a very austere summary of what's been going on. So I've sat in on countless hours of these meetings. There's an enormous amount of good faith and good will and intelligence and cooperation in the rooms. And my observation is that in the five work groups that they are narrowing the issues and moving towards outcomes which are consequential and will make a difference to future job growth in Australia. So I'm considerably more optimistic than the type of impression that that statement would give.
QUESTION:
Treasurer, are you confident that the economy will pick up enough in the September quarter to offset any slight reduction in spending by these slightly tapered JobKeeper payments?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, the JobKeeper program is targeted at those businesses that are still in distress. And, as you know, that is most felt right now in Victoria. It's not the only initiative that we have under way. We have other initiatives that are supporting the aviation sector, the tourism sector, the housing sector and of course, we have a Budget on October 6, which will see more projects and more programs designed to boost aggregate demand. You see, our economic approach has been a number of phases. First, has been income support. Basically to cushion the blow from that initial supply side shock. Second, we've been seeking to boost aggregate demand and we have a number of sector wide and specific projects to do that, including bringing forward up to $10 billion of infrastructure spending. We're also providing 340,000 new training places to help equip our workforce to find a job in this COVID environment. And of course, and the third part of our program is to make it easier for businesses to hire, to innovate, to grow. And that's where the industrial relations reforms that Christian is pursuing, whether it's around casuals, whether it’s around greenfield sites, whether it’s around award simplification or compliance or other activities, they're absolutely critical. And what I'm really pleased about this legislation is that it will contain those flexibilities around the industrial relations system which will make it easier for employers and employees to go about doing their business.
QUESTION:
The Prime Minister says he wants to see as many restrictions lifted by Christmas and people can see their families and get back to work. Realistically, what do you think will happen by then in terms of state borders? Will we see the state borders come down by Christmas?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, obviously we're seeking to work through the National Cabinet on an agreed definition of a hotspot. And the Prime Minister has made it very clear that if we are unable to get broad agreement from all the states, then we'll proceed with a Commonwealth definition. And the reason why is because it's critically important going forward that we have more flexible arrangements around the border closures. Right now they're too cruel, they’re too confused and there's not enough compassion and not enough common sense. So that is why that's critical. By bringing the virus under control and, obviously, we are waiting for Sunday in Victoria to see that plan for opening up the Victorian economy, but once you get the number of cases down and the virus under control, you can ease restrictions. Once you ease restrictions you can get people back to work and that will obviously happen in the weeks and months ahead.
QUESTION:
Treasurer, is the Prime Minister has told Australians to look ahead to Christmas. Currently 3.5 million Australians, as you say, are receiving JobKeeper. What do you say to the 2.1 million Australians Treasury estimates won't be receiving JobKeeper in the December quarter? What have they got to look forward to? They've effectively been given a pay cut by the Government?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We have absolutely been focused on transitioning the JobKeeper payment. And the Labor Party have called for a transition for some time and that's what we're doing with the passage of this legislation and the regulations that are passed under it. With respect to JobKeeper going forward in the December quarter, we expected that more than 2.2 million Australians will be on it, and in the March quarter, about 1.75 million Australians. We will continue to provide a range of support to Australian workers, whether it's the cash flow boost that right now has costed around $30 billion and supporting hundreds of thousands of businesses across the country, or the many other programs we have in place. They're designed to help Australians who are in need.
QUESTION:
Mr. Porter, we're getting closer to the stage where something you'll have to consider are the findings of the Inspector General of the Defence Forces inquiry into Afghanistan, any potential prosecutions that may arise out of that require your signature. Can you talk through what the considerations you'd have to give on any of those cases are before you agree to send them off for prosecution?
CHRISTIAN PORTER:
Well, I think that you've sort of covered two areas. One is about policy consideration from his Honour Justice Brereton’s report. That's not what I'll be doing. If at any point a determination were made to investigate, that investigation resulted in a full brief, the full brief went to the Commonwealth DPP. The Commonwealth DPP determined there was a reasonable prospect of conviction and a public interest in pursuing a trial, then they would send that view that they, the Commonwealth DPP, had formed to me as Attorney-General and I would assess that afresh. So that is purely a question of assessing evidence. I don't have a policy role in the matter. Thank you very much.