CHRISSIE SWAN:
Welcome to the show Josh Frydenberg. Were you aware that Jonathan Brown is a card carrying Frydenberg fan?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well it’s nice to know. He’s a great guy, a great footballer and obviously a real presence around Melbourne, so it’s great to be with you Browny, Sam and Chrissie.
JONATHAN BROWN:
I’m in your area too.
DEAN THOMAS:
Get a room.
CHRISSIE SWAN:
You know when you’re very drunk and you love everyone.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Is that his moment is it?
CHRISSIE SWAN:
That’s what happened.
DEAN THOMAS:
I’ve actually got the audio here, let’s analyse it.
Plays audio
CHRISSIE SWAN:
A little bit weary and emotional. Now, where are you right now?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I’m in Canberra, I’m in the second day of isolation, having got here yesterday. And obviously I’ve got to follow the rules for the next two weeks so that we’re all fit and healthy ready to go for Parliament when it resumes.
CHRISSIE SWAN:
When is it going to resume?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
At the end of August. And obviously anyone who is coming up from Victoria has to put the gloves on, put the masks on, go into isolation and make sure that they’re given the green light before they enter Parliament House.
JONATHAN BROWN:
How’s the next six months going to pan out for us? A lot of nervous people, well we’re all nervous to be honest Josh.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We are Browny. It’s really troubling times I reckon, and you know, yesterday there were some numbers about the mental health of, particularly young people, that we were seeing as a result of the lockdown. And to be honest, that’s one of my greatest fears, is just the emotional toll that it will have on people, you know the curfews, the school closures, the business closures, people’s job insecurity. But at the same time, we’re a resilient nation. We’re obviously tough in Victoria too and I’m hoping everyone gets to the other side and I’ll be certainly doing my bit to make sure that is the case.
CHRISSIE SWAN:
As the Treasurer, can you believe what you’ve been handed?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No, I mean, that’s the contrast. I mean, even after the terrible drought that we had and then the bushfires over the Christmas period, we were still on track to deliver a budget surplus, which would’ve been the first budget surplus in 12 years. Now I find myself delivering the biggest budget deficit as a result of COVID-19 and the necessary spending that we’ve had to undertake. So it’s been a real turnaround in that respect and the economic hit to the economy is going to be very severe. That’s why we’ve announced programs like JobKeeper, which will see 1.5 million Victorians on the program over the September quarter, which is nearly half the whole private sector workforce in our state.
CHRISSIE SWAN:
What numbers are usually on Government subsidies?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well that program is a new program and it’s designed to give money to employers who then pay it directly to their staff, even if they’re seeing their hours reduced to zero if they’ve had to close their doors. And the whole purpose of it is to maintain that formal connection between the employers and the employees because we know businesses will struggle, many people listening to your program this morning in Melbourne will be struggling. Whether they’re tradies or whether they’re retail shops or whatever the case may be.
CHRISSIE SWAN:
So what can you, Josh what can you tell them that will give them some sort of solace that someone in charge is doing something?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well I tell them that the Morrison Government, and obviously we’re working with the Victorian Government as well, but the Morrison Government is there every step of the way for them. And we’ve announced the most significant support measures that Australia has ever seen. JobKeeper is one part of it, but there’s also been the $750 payments to people who are on income support, there’s also been what is called a cash flow boost to small businesses to help them with working capital, there’s been other incentives to get more investment. We’ll do whatever it takes to support the Australian people get to the other side. And if we all follow the rules, as people have been doing, then that will help reduce the number of new cases every day.
JONATHAN BROWN:
Are you at all worried about the level of Government debt, you know, when you hear stories that people in their twenties now, their grandkids, when they eventually do have them, will still be carrying the burden of our debt?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well Browny, it’s a good question. The reality is the debt is going to be a lot higher as a result of this, there’s no escaping that fact, and we’ll have to be paying it back for years to come. But we did go into this crisis with less debt than other nations. So, we had about a quarter of the debt, based on the size of our economy, than the United States and the United Kingdom and so therefore we had more financial firepower to respond. But it’s still going to be a burden with us for years to come. Interest rates are really low at the moment, much lower than they’ve been in recent memory, and that enables us to be able to service the debt in a better way than would’ve otherwise been the case.
CHRISSIE SWAN:
How do you think Daniel Andrews has been dealing with the situation as Premier?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well he’s in a tough situation and I have a good working relationship with him as well as with the State Treasurer and what I’ve been saying is, no one wants to see a slanging match between the Federal Government and the State Government, there’s no doubt about that. But at the same time, we all know there’s been big serious failures with deadly consequences when it comes to quarantine and Victorians will need answers to that and I’ll leave that to the Premier to provide.
DEAN THOMAS:
Josh Frydenberg, thanks for your time man and what a time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Always good to be with you and to all your listeners, stay strong, stay safe and please look after one another.