ALLISON LANGDON:
For more, let’s bring in Treasurer Josh Frydenberg who joins us now in Melbourne. Treasurer, always nice to see you. It jams you a little though, doesn't it? Not great for the national economy.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well I think Western Australians this morning are very disappointed and are asking the question if not now, when, will their borders open? But this is a decision of the Western Australian Government. It’s for them to explain, it’s not a federal‑state issue. But now with Omicron, we see a variant of the virus that is much less severe than previous variants. Obviously it’s highly transmissible, and we need to now, two years into the pandemic, live with the virus in a COVID‑safe way. We’ve got health restrictions like social distancing and mask wearing that are still in place. But we need to learn to live with the virus.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
It makes campaigning a little difficult for you in WA.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it certainly does. It brings in the Zoom meeting more than the face‑to‑face one, Karl. But, you know, at the first opportunity the Prime Minister and I and our other colleagues will make their way to WA because we have an important message to convey to the people of Western Australia. We have, as a Federal Government, provided more than $14 billion since the start of this pandemic for various measures like JobKeeper and the cash flow boost and other economic support measures into WA. So we’ve been there for the Western Australian people from day one of this pandemic, and we’ll continue to be there going forward.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
But this decision, I mean, and it’s very popular in WA, and we don’t live there so I’m (inaufible) to criticise it, but this flies in the face of everything your Government stands for.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, what we know with the virus is that the vaccines and the booster shots can be a very strong defence. And, in fact, in WA more than 60 per cent of people who are eligible for the booster shot have received it. So that is encouraging. And we’re seeing that in other states as well. So it’s important that we learn to live with the virus, and that’s why the borders should come down and the country should be united as one. Let’s think about what’s happened in Queensland in just recent weeks, Karl and Ali. They had their closed borders just weeks ago, then they moved to a PCR test, then they moved to a RAT test, and now they’ve removed RAT tests altogether. So other states are moving very rapidly learning to live with the virus. I would hope that WA in time will do so as well.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Hey, did you want the isolation period reduced from seven to five days? I know businesses are not very happy with keeping the decision as it is.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, as the Prime Minister has said, we’ll continue to take the medical advice on these key matters. And that matter remains under active consideration. But the National Cabinet has decided not to move at this point in time. But when they did move previously on isolation requirements, that had a positive impact on our supply chains. And I was recently at a Coles distribution centre in Victoria where we spoke actually from earlier in the week, and they said that those isolation changes had made a real difference to their ability to get people back into work and obviously to put food on people’s kitchen tables.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
There are massive supply issues, as we talked about earlier in the week with you, going on right across Australia. There are massive staffing shortages going on. The good news is that Australia’s unemployment rate today is pretty low, isn’t it? It’s nearly full employment. The next phase of this obviously once we talk about where we find extra staff for small businesses and large businesses, is what happens to inflation, and does that lead to an interest rate rise soon and how concerned you are about that.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the Reserve Bank has a target band, Karl, of 2 to 3 per cent for inflation, and inflation is now in that target band for the first time effectively since 2015. So the Reserve Bank will look at as to where inflation sustainably is before it makes a decision about interest rates. It’s a matter for them as an independent Reserve Bank with respect to monetary policy, but the low interest rates today have obviously supported investment and consumer spending across the economy. They can’t stay low or at this rate forever. Everyone understands that. But the Reserve Bank in terms of its public commentary to date has been very cautious about where interest rates are going. But yesterday’s unemployment numbers were truly stunning. To see the unemployment rate at 4.2 per cent, the lowest in more than 13 years, and to know that one million more women are now in work in Australia compared to when we came to Government I think is a really important achievement.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Hey, Josh, as a proud Melburnian…
KARL STEFANOVIC:
And a tennis player.
ALLISON LANGDON:
And a tennis player, to hear world number 2 Daniil Medvedev say this last night:
[PLAYS EXCERPT] DANIIL MEDVEDEV:
People are cheering like you’ve already made a double fault. I mean, that’s just disappointing because – it’s not everybody who is doing it, but those who are doing it probably have a low IQ.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Whoa.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Are you going to cancel his visa, too?
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Get him out of here.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I think those comments from him were a bit below the belt. He would understand that crowds cheer for their hometown favourites, in this case Nick Kyrgios. Whether you love him or hate him, he’s a great entertainer. Unfortunately he didn’t get there last night. Medvedev is a great player as well. But, you know, if Karl and I made it on to Rod Laver Arena I’m sure the crowd would support us both rather than just one side.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Since it’s not going to happen, we’ll never find out.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Why can’t that happen, actually?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Who knows? Who knows? You are the host broadcaster – the challenge is out.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
That’s right.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Leave this with me, guys.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
We’re the host broadcaster.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Yeah, we can do whatever we want.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
And we can get Medvedev kicked out of this country. Surely. We’re the host broadcaster.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Oh, man.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Thanks, Josh.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We could be the two wildcards, Karl.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
That’s it.
ALLISON LANGDON:
Thank you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good to be with you.