BEN FORDHAM:
Josh Frydenberg, good morning to you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning, Ben. Nice to be with you.
BEN FORDHAM:
Yeah, so you'll be making a speech on this today. So basically, the COVID disaster payments will be coming to an end. Well, they couldn't hang around forever.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
These were emergency payments and they couldn't continue forever. What our announcement does today is it backs in Australia's plan to reopen, and it gives Australians their lives back by bringing an end to lockdowns. Right now Ben, we're spending about a billion dollars a week supporting one and a half million people with this recurrent payment of up to $750 a week for hours of work that is lost. Once we hit that 70 per cent double dose target, which in New South Wales is expected around the 11th of October, then people who are receiving that payment will have to reapply on a weekly basis. And once we get to the 80 per cent target, which is expected to be not that long after that, the payment will cease, but there will be a two-week transition period.
BEN FORDHAM:
So it will taper off over a fortnight and then it will come to an end. And therefore, it's a signal, isn't it, to everyone that we're back to work?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, absolutely, and we need to learn to live with the virus. We can't eliminate it. We've been seeking to suppress it. And people have undergone a pretty significant change for their lives with these extended lockdowns. And so just as the rest of the world is living with the virus, so will we. And we need to do so in a COVID-safe way, so there may still be some health restrictions in place. But as for the lockdowns, we want to make them a thing at the past.
BEN FORDHAM:
And just to answer that text message from Jodi, who sent a note in there will be some people who won't have a job to go back to because the business has gone down the gurgler. And sadly, some of those people will end up on welfare.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we have been putting a significant amount of money into the economy, nearly $300 billion, and that includes significant business support and I'm working with the state government in New South Wales for a similar transition plan for the business payment so they graduate down at 70 per cent double dose and then come to an end of 80 per cent. Those business support payments have helped businesses keep their doors open and also to keep their staff on the books while our COVID disaster payment has made up for those hours of work that has been lost. You have to understand Ben, we’ve put more than $13 billion out the door just in response to the Delta variant and alone, and we can't keep doing that with taxpayers money forever. These are emergency payments, and they’ll need to come to an end.
BEN FORDHAM:
Just lastly, when the New South Wales government released its roadmap on Monday, there was not really anything in there about encouraging people to get back to the office. There was one line at the bottom of the page saying, bosses must continue to allow employees to work from home. But at some stage, we're going to have to get back to work because you've got all those small businesses in Sydney’s CBD who rely on people to be in the city to go and buy a coffee, to go and buy a sandwich at lunchtime.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely Ben. The CBD, not just the physical heart of the city, but when they come to the economy as well, they're a critical part of it. And we know that it's not just the people in the offices, but it's also the cafes, it's the transport workers, it's all the others who are putting on events and the like. And so there's hundreds of thousands of people across the country who rely on the business activity in our CBD. So while people have worked from home during the lockdowns again, that can't continue forever.
BEN FORDHAM:
We'll be listening for your speech today. Have you just got off the treadmill or the exercise bike I'm hearing? Is that true?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I have Ben, but I didn't go too far, how’s that?
BEN FORDHAM:
How long do you do on the exercise bike, Treasurer?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
About 40 minutes, but probably, probably not enough. And as for the, as for the Ninja Warrior, you know I’ve still got a lot of work to do haven’t I?
BEN FORDHAM:
We'll catch up soon. Thanks for your time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Take care Ben.