DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Treasurer, good morning. Thank you for joining us.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
We’re seeing a lot of uncertainty around the country right now. Less people seem to be moving around due to the threat of Omicron. Does this threaten to derail those figures?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I don't believe that Omicron will derail Australia's strong economic recovery. Australia is experiencing a jobs boom right now, with nearly half a million jobs having been created since September as our two largest states, New South Wales and Victoria, came out of lockdown. The unemployment rate has fallen to around a 13 year low at 4.6 per cent. This compares to 5.7 per cent when Labor last left office. We've seen job ads at around a 13 year high, with more than 250,000 job ads available and small businesses right across the country who did it so tough early on but used JobKeeper and the cash flow boost and others to actually get through the struggle and the challenges, are now actually coming better. And so we're starting to see these jobs coming back and it's looking very promising for the Australian economy.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
This morning KPMG Chief Economist Brendan Rynne says that Australia would be better served by adopting a more aggressive approach to attracting migrants. He's actually suggesting about 350,000 a year to make up for the collapse in overseas arrivals. You're heading towards a federal election, but is this something that the federal government would consider?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it's always about getting the balance right when it comes to our migration settings. Australia has always been a welcoming country, whether it's for humanitarian intake, whether it's family reunion and, of course, skilled migrants have played an important part in our economy as well. So we'll continue to have a balanced, considered approach to migration recognising that it's helped make Australia the strong country, the diverse country, the tolerant country that we are. We did see throughout the pandemic last year and the year before, that actually population growth became the lowest level in more than a century. And this is going to be one of the more permanent impacts of COVID on the population size not being as big as what we initially thought. But now that we're opening our borders, we're starting to welcome back migrants. But we'll do so in a considered way, in a way that will strengthen our economy.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Alright, I want to ask you about the current COVID situation across the country. There are calls now to scrap the isolation period for aged care workers who are considered close contacts. The people that they protect are the most vulnerable. Is this going too far?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well as the Prime Minister has said, we are looking at the settings for furloughed workers, particularly those who are working in the emergency health system. And I think that's important. So we'll take the medical advice. The Chief Medical Officer is working through the various options. The Prime Minister has called a National Cabinet meeting for next week, and the Prime Minister was able to secure the agreement of the States and the Territories to significant changes to the close contact regime. And I think that's been important. So the next step is to look at the systems and the processes and the requirements around furloughed workers who work in those emergency health areas.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
There are reports that a significant proportion of COVID hospitalisations are in hospital for other illnesses or injuries, but also happen to have COVID. Given there's so much uncertainty and people are worried, do we need to change the way that daily cases are being reported to show these levels of breakdowns?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well the focus should not be on daily cases. The focus should be on the pressure on the health system and the number of people who are in either ICU or on ventilators. Now, right now, there are 51 people who are on ventilators and around 150 people who are in ICU. Let's keep that in perspective, a country of 26 million people, and we know that the majority of people who are in hospital with COVID are actually unvaccinated it. So the message is very clear. Go and get vaccinated and if you're eligible, go and get the booster shot. The early data on Omicron is showing that it's perhaps around 75% less severe than Delta. Now Delta is still out there in the community, and that's one of the other main reasons that people are actually in hospital. But Omicron may provide that bridge from the pandemic to the endemic and early signs are actually quite encouraging, according to the medical experts.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Just finally, Treasurer, before we let you go, this weekend we saw Anthony Albanese making a number of election pitches, particularly in the Hunter region of New South Wales. It's almost like the unofficial election campaign is well and truly underway. Are you ready for the next few months?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the thing to say about Anthony Albanese and his proposal around rail was it was a plan to have a plan about a plan. And again, that's just more talk no action from Anthony Albanese. And then I see he's now talking about shipping, rehashing a proposal he had from the 2019 election. Well, let's remember that when Labor was last in office, they did not commission one Australian naval ship, not one, not one. And we have now the biggest programme underway for ship building in Australia's military history, going back since the Second World War. So it's a big contrast between what he says and what he does. But what I do know is that the Labor Party and their shadow Treasury spokesman, Jim Chalmers, said the next election will be about jobs and the biggest test for the Government's management of the pandemic will be what happens to unemployment. And today we've seen data reveal that around half a million new jobs have been created since September alone and that the unemployment rate is at 4.6 per cent, compared to 5.7 per cent when Labor left office. We have one of the most left wing, hard left Labor leaders that has ever led a party in Australia in Anthony Albanese. He has a long history of proposing higher taxes, whether it was at the last election, on retirees, on housing, on superannuation, on people's income or on family small businesses. We know if he's got a chance in office, he will put higher taxes, he will attack aspirational Australians. And that won't be good news for Australia's economic recovery.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Alright, a big few months ahead. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, thank you for joining me this morning.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
My pleasure.