ALLISON LANGDON:
Good morning, Treasurer. How are you?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning, Ally. Good morning, Karl. Karl, I hope you've been working on that forehand, mate. I'm looking forward to that grudge match.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
It would appear as though I've got my fingers on the red buttons now as well, so Australia can look forward to a period of peace and prosperity. Hey, Treasurer, looks like Omicron might have peaked. Is that what you're hearing?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, there are some positive early signs where we've seen the admissions for ICU in both New South Wales and Victoria, and the patient numbers start to decline, but it's only slight. We've also heard from the medical experts that we may be reaching that peak. And as you and I know from our own experiences, Karl, with COVID, it can knock you around a bit, but from my perspective, it's a lot better than being subject to extended lockdowns. We've got to learn to live with the virus. We do know that it's 75 per cent less severe than in previous variants. And it's really good news that in the big states of New South Wales and Victoria, there's now a plan to get the kids back into the classroom because they've been out of the classroom for too long, affecting both their educational development, their wellbeing, and of course, it affects the broader economy as well.
ALLISON LANGDON:
I feel like a lot of the language at the moment is feeling very positive, that we're kind of past the worst of this. The school is going back, but at the same time, you've got Europe and the US warning their people to not come here. I mean, are we too diseased?
JOSH FRYDENBEG:
Well, if you look at those key indicators, Ally, our vaccination rates, which is our primary line of defence against the virus, we're in the top ten in the world, in the OECD. More than six and a half million Australians have now got a booster shot. More than 600,000 kids aged five to eleven have now got their vaccine. So that's a good sign. So with respect to our health systems, we've got one of the best in the world and our mortality rates, so the death per head of population due to COVID is a fraction of what we've seen in the US and in the UK. And we've got one of the strongest economic recoveries in the world. So, yes, there are pressures on supply chains, yes, there are pressures on our health system, but I'm a glass half full person. And when it comes to the year ahead, your viewers, Australians, can be confident and optimistic about what lies ahead.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
There are some significant inflationary pressures that are also building. Do you think Australians should prepare for an interest rate rise in the next couple of months?
JOSH FRYDENBEG:
Well, as the Federal Treasurer, my job is to manage what is called the fiscal response and the Reserve Bank manages interest rates and monetary policy. And so that is a decision for them as an independent board. But they made it very clear, Karl, that they are reluctant to increase interest rates until they see inflation sustainably higher, until they see higher wage growth as a result of that lower unemployment rate that we're seeing. So there are cost of living pressures. But if you're somebody with a $500,000 mortgage, you're paying $600 a month less in interest payments on that mortgage then you were when the Labor Party was last in office. So those lower interest rates are good news for people with a mortgage.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Well, that's hoping then, of course, that they hang around. But when you're looking at you've got a trillion dollar debt, you've got petrol prices, housing costs are going up, and you have a whole lot of voters saying cost of living pressures, which you just touched on, is going to determine how they vote at this next election. Are you a bit worried about that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, let's go through that. In terms of people's mortgage payments, they've come down very substantially and the interest rates are historically low. When you look at electricity prices, which is a key cost for families, electricity prices have come down by around 10 per cent since December 2018, when under the Labour Party, they doubled. Childcare costs are lower today than they were when the Labor Party was last in office. Petrol prices have also been lower, on average, under us compared to under the Labor Party. So we have a good story to tell. But that's not to dismiss the real cost of living pressures that families face. But Ally, one thing that we are doing every day, every week, every month, every year, is putting more money into people's pockets with tax cuts. And there's new data out today from the tax office showing that young people are seeing a real boost to their incomes as a result of our tax cuts.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
You're making a real pitch for young people, the thing is, the Coalition doesn't exactly scream Triple J top 100, does it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, if you're a young person, you're focused on getting a job when you come out of whether it's University or TAFE training or whatever the case may be. And look at the numbers, Karl. Today we have a record number of people in a trade apprentice in Australia since those records began back in 1963. 220,000 people in manufacturing now number over a million. One in eight jobs in manufacturing were lost under the Labor Party. And we know that 1.7 million more people are now in work since we came to government. And around a third of those jobs went to young people. So whether it's tax cuts, whether it's more jobs, here I am in your great state of Queensland, Karl. 350,000 more people are in work since the coalition came to government. That's a good story to tell, which I, the Prime Minister and our whole team will be telling every day between now and the election.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Treasurer, before you go, I just want to ask you about the situation in Ukraine, how you're feeling about it. Do you think we are going, what do you think Russia's next step is going to be and what role are we playing in it at the moment?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Ally it's a very serious situation and we are concerned by Russia's military build up and we obviously call upon them to de-escalate. We're talking regularly with the government of Ukraine. Our respective foreign ministers have recently had a discussion and we reaffirmed our support for them. We're talking to key allies in the United States, in Europe, across the NATO countries and we continue to try to get those tensions to reduce. It is very concerning and it just re-emphasises that the world that we live in is pretty challenging indeed. Not just when it comes to the virus and the economy, but also when it comes to the security and strategic situation.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Geez you couldn't get further away from the backdrop where you are today. Treasurer, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.