DAVID KOCH:
Let’s get more now on the new rules on the Governments response to the coronavirus. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg joins me now. Treasurer, good morning to you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning Kochie.
DAVID KOCH:
Given the new restrictions limiting gatherings to two people, and people being told to stay at home, a lot of the public, very vocal parts of the public are saying ‘let’s just lock Australia down totally’. Why aren’t you doing that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again we are focused on implementing the medical advice. Advice that has come from the Chief Medical Officer of the Commonwealth who together with their state counterparts are meeting on a daily basis. We can only take the best possible advice to us and we encourage all Australians to respect the social distancing requirements that are now in place, as the Prime Minister articulated last night, to remain at home other than for certain activities that they need to undertake. And this is very much a Team Australia moment. Government, business and of course every family coming together to support the nation at this time.
DAVID KOCH:
And also, look so many, it does annoy me a bit, everybody saying ‘lock the country down’ and then in the next breath they say ‘I feel so sorry for all those people lined up outside of Centrelink’. You know, it’s about keeping people in jobs for as long as possible isn’t it? Otherwise we will go into a depression and no one wants that.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well Kochie, we face a war on two fronts; we face a health crisis like never before and an economic crisis like never before, and we are trying to deal with both challenges at the same time. And as you know when it comes to the economic response, we have had our two tranches, more than $180 billion in measures today, we will make a very significant announcement about further income support to keep Australian workers in a job. And we’ve also announced significant changes to the foreign investment guidelines to protect Australian companies in these extraordinary times.
DAVID KOCH:
Who would want to be a leader these days? It is a balance, it’s all about timing. Let’s go to those two things you were talking about, apparently you are going to announce a $1,500 a fortnight subsidy for workers who have been axed or about to be axed, a lot of businesses today are saying ‘will I have to put off staff today or tomorrow’. You’re saying ‘wait on’, wait until when? When are you going to announce this?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We will be making this announcement later today and I would say to all those employers who are watching your show this morning Kochie, that we want to work with you to keep your staff employed. We recognise there’s going to be the other side to the coronavirus, and we want Australia to bounce back stronger than ever, so keeping that connection between employer and employee is very important. And what Australians are learning through this crisis is that the Government has their back. Whether it was yesterday’s announcement of over $1 billion of telehealth and mental health measures to support people at their time of need, whether it’s the backing of small business with new loans and with cash payments, whether it’s the doubling of Newstart effectively to create a stronger safety net, or whether the announcement today. It’s all about cushioning the blow for families and businesses from this very big economic shock.
DAVID KOCH:
And you are putting a moratorium on the eviction of commercial, as well as residential renters for six months.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well of course if you haven’t been impacted by the coronavirus and you’re one of those businesses who is doing okay then you’ve got to meet your obligations under your lease. But then there are many others, particularly in the retail sector, who have faced the full brunt of this crisis and they’ve had to close their doors with no customers coming through, no revenue coming in and so as a result of that, we need the landlords and the tenants to burden share, to work through this challenge, because there’s an alignment of interests here Kochie, the landlord wants a tenant on the other side of this crisis, and the tenant wants to stay back in business, so that’s really important.
DAVID KOCH:
Alright these are terrific measures for business and for people as well, average Australian’s can’t be evicted if you not paying your rent, also having a six month moratorium on interest payments on your small business loan. The ripple effect of that is on your credit rating going forward which could last for years and years and years. Have you spoken to the credit rating agencies about, if you like, turning a blind eye to this for the next six months so it isn’t a permanent thing on people’s credit rating records?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well in terms of the credit rating we are talking to the banks obviously about those issues. When it comes to the nations credit rating we are also talking to the credit rating agencies and I had this very conversation with Treasury just yesterday, because very clearly, we are spending much more money than we would otherwise do and that’s why we got the books back into balance. That’s why we have been responsible fiscal managers so that at a time of need, we can spend through the crisis as Australians expect. The Government has got the publics’ back, and that’s the message I send to all your viewers this morning. We will get through this, we will bounce back stronger than ever but there are some very tough days ahead.
DAVID KOCH:
And also you’re protecting Australian businesses from being, if you like, bought out on the cheap by foreign investors.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
This is something I was very much focused on, because these are extraordinary times, and Australians expect the Government to be putting every foreign investment proposal through a proper assessment and that’s why we’ve abolished those thresholds which currently exist at $1.2 billion for countries that we have a free trade agreement with. This is a precautionary, temporary measure to protect the national interest and again, it’s building on our other measures to date to protect the public.
DAVID KOCH:
Well we look forward to seeing that economic stimulus package this afternoon Treasurer, I know you’ve got to go thanks for joining us.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Always good to be with you Kochie.