BEN FORDHAM:
The Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is on the line. Treasurer, good morning to you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Nice to be with you.
BEN FORDHAM:
Are you ready to take a leaf out of John Howard's book when it comes to pausing the fuel excise?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Look, I'm not going to get into any pre‑budget speculation with you, Ben, as you would understand. There'll be lots of ideas put forward, whether it's by Rex Patrick or others. But I do recognise the price of petrol has dramatically increased and part of that reason is because of what we're seeing unfold in the world right now. The fuel price has risen because of geopolitical tensions. There's been also high demand in the northern winter. And we get a lot of our fuel as an import. And so that flows directly through to higher costs at the bowser.
BEN FORDHAM:
Those concerns are top of mind for so many of my listeners this morning, Treasurer, particularly living in a place like Sydney. When you add in the fuel, the grocery bills, the rent, the mortgages, this is a really tough time for a lot of people out there. How big an issue is this going to be leading into the budget and the election?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Ben, you're absolutely right that the higher cost of living is squeezing many families. And we're very conscious of that. We have made, you know, a number of decisions, including the tax cuts that are rolling out which is helping to boost disposable income, so more than $30 billion in tax relief, particularly focused on low and middle income earners has gone into people's pockets in the last few years. We've made changes around child care to help reduce those costs, particularly for families with two or more children in child care. And then the work that we've done on electricity prices. Don't forget that under Labor electricity prices doubled. Under us in the last two years they've come down by 8 per cent and we're continuing to invest in the stability of the grid to ensure that we get both affordable and reliable power. So we are –
BEN FORDHAM:
Now that we're welcoming in internationals again, you've spoken in the past about Australia bringing in 235,000 migrants per year by 2024‑2025. I'm wondering where those people are going to live, because the Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has told us that Sydney is full.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, firstly, people come in whether they're on skilled visas, which is an important part of the economy, as you know. We've got workforce shortages right now and we're heavily investing in training programs. We've got a record number of trade apprentices who are in work. We've got the JobTrainer program, but we also need skilled workers in particular sectors. So we welcome that. International students are an important part of our economy. They provide tens of billions of dollars to our economy, and they're welcome. And then, of course, we always have a generous humanitarian program. We have family reunion and we have a normal visa program for migrants.
Now that was all put on hold, Ben, over the last couple of years. Population growth in Australia was at its lowest level in more than a hundred years. In fact, in the middle of the pandemic more people left Australia than came to Australia. And that was the first time that had happened in more than 75 years. So we have seen the impact of the pandemic on Australia's population growth.
What we're not seeking to do is to make up that lost ground as some may call us to do, but what we will do is move to more normalised settings as we learn to live with the virus. And I think that's good news for the economy but it also reflects the type of society we are.
BEN FORDHAM:
When you talk about normalised settings, you've got people in Sydney who are on overcrowded trains, we've got overflowing schools, we've got people waiting for months or years on end to undertake surgery and major medical appointments. So that's where people are thinking, okay, well, of course we want to welcome people to our country, but where are they going to settle? Are they going to settle in Sydney? Because as Barnaby Joyce says, Sydney's full.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I think what you're emphasising, and rightly so, is the need for further investment in infrastructure. And whether that's transport infrastructure, whether that's the state governments who are investing in affordable housing or whether it's other programs to ensure that, you know, we have more liveability in our cities.
We're also, though, seeing a large number of people through this pandemic and since move to the regions. And we're encouraging that. We've got programs in place to boost telecommunications connectivity between the regions. We've got investments in regional health. We've got investments, very significant investments, in regional infrastructure, whether it's transport or water infrastructure, because we recognise that there are pressures on our cities. And if we can have transport hubs that move between the regions and the cities, if people can be digitally connected from their homes in the regions more easily, that's going to facilitate a stronger economy, but it will also reduce some of the pressures in our urban areas and city areas.
BEN FORDHAM:
There are plenty of pressures on your plate at the moment with Russia, Ukraine and also floods going on. We'll leave it there for now and we'll talk soon. Thanks for your time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Always a pleasure, Ben. All the best to your listeners.
BEN FORDHAM:
Good on you. The federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg joining us on the line.