DAVID KOCH:
Treasurer, morning to you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning Kochie.
DAVID KOCH:
You’re announcing new changes to JobKeeper to make it easier for businesses to qualify, just run through it for us.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well the Morrison Government Kochie, is committing an additional $15.6 billion to expand the JobKeeper program. Around $13 billion of that will make its way to Victoria with more Victorian businesses and employees being eligible. We’re making two changes, one is to the business turnover test and the other is to the employee eligibility test. When it comes to being a business and eligible for JobKeeper, in the December quarter, previously you had to see your turnover down both in the June quarter and the September quarter. We’re saying now it just has to be down in the September quarter. And as for all those employees who are eligible, previously you had to be on the books of a business on March 1, now we’re saying you have to be on the books of the business as of July 1, which allows businesses we have taken on additional staff but are now subject to those stage 4 restrictions to be covered by the program.
DAVID KOCH:
So your revenue has got be down 30 per cent compared with the same time the previous year in the September quarter to qualify. Most importantly, Treasurer, this is not just for Victorian businesses is it? It is for businesses right across the country.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And that is a very important point. We have maintained the national focus and the national rollout of this program. It's always been temporary, it’s always been demand driven but of course, we are a country at two different stages of dealing with the coronavirus. There is Victoria and then there’s the rest. In Victoria, we’re subject to curfews, school closures, business closures. Whereas in the rest of the country, we are seeing people get back to work and those restrictions being eased and you saw that Kochie, in the most recent job numbers which were quite positive.
DAVID KOCH:
Yes. Okay, so this will bring the total cost of JobKeeper to just over $100 billion. Still below the original estimate…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It will.
DAVID KOCH:
Before it was recalculated, of $130 billion so, still within reason. What do you say to people that will say we can't afford it, this will push Government debt too high, we’ll never be able to pay it back, the economy will never recover.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I will say to them that obviously, no one wants to be spending more money than you have to. What we have always focused on is ensuring that the money is spent appropriately and in a targeted way. It is an economic lifeline to millions of Australians right around the country. We will see around 4 million Australian workers on JobKeeper. We’ll see nearly half the Victorian private sector workforce on JobKeeper. Without it, they wouldn't have had that level of support. They wouldn’t have been able to keep that formal connection between employers and employees. So we know that we are facing a once in a century pandemic. This is really a team Australia moment. We have to all come together. We can manage these high debt burdens. Particularly Kochie because we went into this crisis with a much lower level of debt to GDP than many other countries around the world, including the United States, the UK, Japan and others.
DAVID KOCH:
And also the other thing is you raise money, you borrow this debt by issuing Government bonds. Now you have been issuing them over the last couple of weeks. You are paying just 0.8 of 1% in interest, which is tiny because of our AAA credit rating and you are being swamped with offers, people want to lend money.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well we have been what is called ‘over covered’ by the demand for those bond issuances. That basically reflects that Australia is treated as a very stable, reliable country that meets its debt obligations. That number that you quoted, 0.8% that is for ten year money. If you're borrowing five year money, it is half of that. We recently released for the first time in some time, 30 year bonds. So we are locking in these lower interest rates so that we can pay it back over time.
DAVID KOCH:
I wouldn't mind a bit of that if you have got a bit to spare, anyone borrowing at 0.5…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it is your money after all Kochie. This is the key point, Government doesn't have money of its own. It is the public's money and what we have always sought to do is use it wisely. That is what we are doing through this crisis. But I really feel right now for my fellow Victorians. It’s not just the economic toll Kochie, it’s the huge emotional toll as well, and families feel like they are going through the eye of a storm.
DAVID KOCH:
Treasurer, appreciate your time. Thank you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Nice to be with you.