DAVID KOCH:
We're joined now by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in Canberra. Treasurer, were you absolutely stunned by these figures? The highest quarterly growth since 1976. Talk about a V shaped recovery.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well it was is better than what was expected at budget time and was better than what the market was expecting going into yesterday's national accounts numbers and as you say, a 3.3 percent increase for the quarter, it’s the single largest increase in quarterly growth since 1976 and it reflects the momentum that is building across the country as the virus is brought under control and people are getting about their daily lives. This is the economic recovery that all Australians have worked very hard for. There is still a long, hard road ahead but certainly, this is a positive trend.
DAVID KOCH:
Okay when you look back, yes, there was economic stimulus, JobKeeper, JobSeeker, do you reckon allowing people to get access to their super was just the genius idea?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well these people getting access to their own money. And it’s for them to decide how they spend it. And we know that people needed that extra support through this crisis. Now the Federal Government has provided an unprecedented level of economic support, $257 billion and already, Kochie, $130 billion has gone into the pockets of families and businesses right across the country. And as you know it’s not just the JobKeeper program which has been this economic lifeline, but it’s been the Cash Flow Boost that has provided working capital to small businesses. It’s $750 payments to millions of pensioners, carers and others on income support. So we have undertaken a whole suite of economic support measures and there was even more in the Budget which will continue to roll out over the course of next year and beyond.
DAVID KOCH:
Great news, but again, sobering from the Reserve Bank's Governor yesterday saying hey that unemployment rate yes it is not going to get as high as we thought it would, but it is going to take a while to come down. People are still out of jobs.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well there are going to be sectors like aviation, like tourism that are going to continue to do it tough as long as those international borders are closed and everything hangs off getting the virus under control, which we have as a nation successfully done. Right now, there is not one Australian in ICU or on a ventilator due to COVID, whereas in the United Kingdom, they’ve had more than one million infections and nearly than 60,000 deaths. So we have performed better than nearly any other nation on earth, but we have to remain vigilant because we don't know what’s around the corner.
DAVID KOCH:
Alright let's move on to China, the tensions there. They are our biggest customer and take 40 per cent of exports. Tensions between our two countries have never been worse. Do you reckon we have botched the relationship with China?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well it is a challenging time, and that relationship is important, but if you look at the 14 grievance that China has outlined about Australia, we wouldn’t want to give ground on any of those Kochie-
DAVID KOCH:
I know, but it's not the issue ...It's not the issue, it's the way we have done it, the way we’ve gone out all macho, leading the way, look at us, we’re tough on China, rather than going in a group with France and China and some of our trading partners. We have set ourselves up to be bullied, haven't we?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
There is a whole series of countries that have been on the end of a difficult relationship with China. So we are not isolated in that respect. And as you know, the issues, whether they are around foreign investment and national interest, whether they are around foreign interference, whether they are around a free press, whether they are around the right of democratically elected politicians to speak their mind. All of those matters are ones that were pursued in Australia's national interest and you wouldn’t expect us to give ground on it. That being said, we are very willing to sit down with our Chinese counterparts and engage in a respectful two-way dialogue. But when it comes to the trade tensions, if we can't resolve them bilaterally, we will always reserve the right to use multilateral forums.
DAVID KOCH:
Okay, Treasurer I know you’ve got other commitments, we’ve got to let you go. Appreciate your time.