BEN FORDHAM:
Treasurer, good morning to you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning. I just hope I get twelve sleeps, Ben, it is going to be a tough couple of weeks but it is also exciting, too.
BEN FORDHAM:
You’re going to let struggling small businesses trade while insolvent, so this will give them more time to recover. Won’t this give zombie businesses the chance to live even longer even though they’re going to fail anyway?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No, because we’re going to have the creditor able to vote on the restructuring plan that the small businesses put together and if there is fifty plus one in favour of that plan, then the businesses can continue to trade, the management stays in place, the board stays in place and they can get to the other side. You see, right now, Ben, 60 per cent of businesses that go into the insolvency process don’t come out the other side. So we’ve taken the best features out of the United States Chapter 11 system and we are creating an opportunity for businesses who have done it really tough through COVID to be able to manage their own affairs, not see their assets eaten away in fees to lawyers and accountants and then have the best chance of surviving.
BEN FORDHAM:
Let’s play a game of true or false. JobKeeper will end for good in March?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It is legislated to end in March and that is our intention.
BEN FORDHAM:
Your reduced the JobSeeker supplement will be made permanent?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Again, it is tapering down to $250 on top of the base. The Prime Minister and myself and Anne Ruston, the relevant Minister, have said that we will be making a decision and an announcement closer to the end of the year, but obviously, we are leaning in to providing continued support.
BEN FORDHAM:
The Budget deficit this year will be more than $200 billion?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It is going to be sizeable but it reflects the challenge that we face. We had no other option but to provide this economic support to the people who need it most. As a result, Ben, Australia has fared so much better than other countries through this economic crisis.
BEN FORDHAM:
You will be delaying an increase of the compulsory super rate?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Again, we have obviously followed very closely the debate on that issue. The increase that is legislated is not scheduled to occur until mid-next year.
BEN FORDHAM:
So that is true or false?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I am not going to provide a one answer or the other to you on that. I just note that the change does not occur until mix-next year, so we don’t have to rush a decision.
BEN FORDHAM:
This Budget is going to be about stimulus as opposed to surplus, right?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
This Budget is absolutely about getting people back to work. That is our ultimate focus, that is our primary focus. We want to see that unemployment rate come down as it has been. We want to see the restrictions eased, we want to see businesses re-open in a COVIDsafe way and everything we do in this Budget, Ben, is designed to get your listeners, who are doing it tough, to the other side of this crisis and for those who are out of work into a job.
BEN FORDHAM:
I know you hate to see money wasted, so I want your take on this; it has been described as the worst deal of the decade. The Government paid $30 million for land that was worth $3 million as part of the Western Sydney Airport development. That must make you angry when you consider you have to account for every single dollar spent.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Of course we account for every dollar spent. There is an inquiry into the conduct behind that particular transaction as the Minister has said in the Department and I will wait for that to play out.
BEN FORDHAM:
So it doesn’t concern you there was $27 million wasted on that deal?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
The Government doesn’t have any money of its own. The money is taxpayers money and we need to always spend that as we do in the most efficient and effective way.
BEN FORDHAM:
Just on border closures and restrictions on workers being able to travel freely. Tonnes of fruit and veggies have been left to rot in WA because workers can’t cross borders. This is tangible evidence, isn’t it, that this hurts jobs and the economy?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It does more than that, it actually leads to some tragic outcomes for families. We had a situation on the South Australian-Victorian border not that long ago where a teacher on the Victorian side couldn’t just move a few kilometres over to the South Australian side to take their class. There are many examples where those strict border closures have not been in the national interest. That is why we’ve been so outspoken, that is why we welcome the gradual easing of those restrictions, be it by the South Australian Government, be it by the Queensland Government and, of course, we would welcome more action by the Western Australian Government.
BEN FORDHAM:
Thanks so much for your time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Always good to be with you, Ben.