DAVID KOCH:
Treasurer, thanks for joining us. What did you have to give up to get Facebook’s agreement?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning, Kochie. We had a pretty complex and difficult negotiations and they went for some time, but they were also constructive. In the end, we agreed to make some clarifications and amendments to the code, including introducing a period of up to two-months for mediation before a matter would proceed to arbitration. I also agreed that before I would designate a digital platform as being under the code, that I would give a one-month notice period, as well as a few other clarifications. The key features of the code, namely that it’s mandatory, it’s based on a two-way value exchange and that it has a final offer arbitration mechanism have remained in place. Australia very much has led the world here, Kochie, in seeing public interest journalism protected and seeing the digital giants pay media businesses for generating original content.
SAM ARMYTAGE:
Treasurer, you spoke to Mark Zuckerberg multiple times over the last few days. I read in the paper, six times. Is that true? Six times. How was he? How responsive was he? How worried was he by the reaction that Facebook was getting in Australia?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Sam, I spoke to him six times over the last two days alone and many more times in the lead up. Look, I think they certainly saw the strong reaction and the outrage here in Australia after they pretty much blacked out Australian news media from their platform. I made it very clear to Mark that the actions of Facebook were not only disappointing to the Government, but the way it was done was disappointing as well, because we weren’t given any advance notice. That being said, he, no doubt like Google as well, are very much focused on their global business, not just what occurs here in Australia. This is really innovative law. It is a significant micro economic reform. It’s been based on work by the ACCC over a number of years, so they were very conscious of ensuring the code is workable and that’s what I have sought to do as well. But I think we have an outcome now which will see commercial deals be put in place and as Kochie just said, Seven West Media were first out of the blocks and that is very pleasing.
DAVID KOCH:
While we’ve got you – you’re going to increase JobSeeker by $50 per fortnight. New figures this morning have revealed over half a million more Australians came off wage subsidies in January than December. Good news there. Is it enough, Jobseeker now? Chris Richardson from Deloitte Access Economics saying we pay the lowest unemployment rate in the world.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
A couple of things there. Firstly, it is has never been seen as a replacement wage. It’s always been part of a safety net. This $50 a fortnight increase is the single biggest increase to the base payments since 1986 and it will see now the JobSeeker payment around 41 per cent of the minimum wage. The vast majority of people on JobSeeker are also receiving other supplementary payments. Our focus is to move people off the JobSeeker payment, Kochie, and into work. That’s why we’ve put in an enormous amount of economic support to the economy and, as you say, in the numbers that I will be releasing today from the Tax Office and Treasury analysis has indicated around 600,000 fewer Australians are on JobKeeper in the month of January compared to the December quarter. That means around 2.7 million Australians have effectively graduated off JobKeeper. That is another positive sign that the economic recovery is underway and our labour market has been enormously resilient in the face of this huge economic shock.
SAM ARMYTAGE:
That is good news, Treasurer. We know you have to go but super quick; Craig Kelly quit the Coalition. How difficult could this make life for the Morrison Government?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Craig has made it very clear that he is going to continue to support the Morrison Government on both confidence and supply. Look, I wouldn’t hide my disappointment in what Craig did yesterday. That being said, we’ll continue to work with him and we’ll do so very productively and very constructively. But, at the same time, our focus is on helping Australia recover from this biggest economic shock since the Great Depression, the first pandemic in a century. On both the health front and the economic front, Sam, Australia is better placed than nearly any other country in the world. The job is not done. There is still a lot of work to do and we’re going to get on with it.
DAVID KOCH:
Alright, Treasurer. Thanks for your time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good to be with you Kochie and Sam.