DAVID KOCH:
Treasurer, and pretty handy tennis player himself, Josh Frydenberg joins us now. Treasurer, the Serbian President has accused Australia of lying, of humiliating itself. Are you concerned that you’ve got offside with the Serbs?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the rules are the rules, and we make no apologies for maintaining the integrity of our border protection policies, Kochie, that have actually kept Australians safe through COVID‑19. It doesn’t matter if you’re Novak Djokovic and the number one tennis player in the world or you’re Betty from Utah, and if you’re unvaccinated, the same rules apply. And Greg Hunt as the Health Minister set out very clearly in a letter to Tennis Australia in November last year as to what the conditions would be for tennis players who were unvaccinated to come to Australia, and Novak Djokovic didn’t meet those conditions.
DAVID KOCH:
How did he get here? How did he land and step on Australian soil if the rules are the rules and Greg Hunt back in November said, “Mate, you’re not coming”?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, as Karen Andrews just said in the introduction to this interview, when you get a visa, he filled it in, he said that he had the exemption and when he gets to the border, the veracity of that exemption that he claims that he had is tested. And it did not meet the ATAGI guidelines as to what somebody needs to do to get to Australia if they’re unvaccinated. Now, of course, they could go through a two‑week quarantine. He didn’t do that. Otherwise, he didn’t have the required medical exemption. So, that’s why he wasn’t ultimately allowed to stay in Australia, because the final decision was left to the Immigration Minister. He made that decision that it wasn’t in the public interest to keep Novak Djokovic here and that was upheld by the full court of the Federal Court.
DAVID KOCH:
But he’s not the only one. He’s not the only one. There’s a whole bunch of others who actually got in, were going around the community and because of the focus on Djokovic, they’ve been now deported as well. Do we need to relook at this process to stop this embarrassing situation in the future?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we have very clear rules and if people breach those rules...
DAVID KOCH:
But they’re not clear…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
…whether they’re Novak Djokovic or others. Well, I think it was very clear in that letter that was sent out to Tennis Australia as to what the requirement would be if you’re unvaccinated to come to Australia.
DAVID KOCH:
How did he get on the plane then?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, he got on a plane because he came to Australia with the visa which wasn’t based on what would be an acceptable entry requirement. And that’s what was tested at the border and that’s why, ultimately, he was not allowed to stay in Australia.
DAVID KOCH:
But see, to the average Australian they’d be thinking, well, shouldn’t you have to prove that to actually get the visa in the first place?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, as you know, we get lots of visas. There’s a computer‑generated process. It relies on the applicant putting in what they believe are their conditions. He said that he had a legitimate exemption, but that wasn’t the case, and ultimately the decision of the Minister was upheld. Look, I think, when you talk about average Australian, I think most Australians understand why the Government took the decision that we did. We are seeing deaths from Omicron. We are seeing deaths from Delta, and we need to ensure a consistency of approach here with respect to unvaccinated people, and we need to encourage all your viewers who are watching today if they’re not vaccinated to make sure that they do, and to get the booster shot if they’re eligible as well.
DAVID KOCH:
Yeah, yeah, totally agree but Australians are saying how on earth did he get here in the first place. That’s their issue. Look, let’s now focus on the tennis itself and some of the other issues. Australians are enjoying some of the biggest tax cuts in decades. How much have we received back, and will these cuts continue?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, over the last six months, we’ve seen $15.5 billion go to 11.7 million Australians and, Kochie, that is the biggest set of income tax cuts in more than two decades, if you look at what’s happened over the last six months. And on average, about $1.5 billion of tax cuts every month will be ongoing over the course of this financial year. That’s a result of bringing stage 2 of the tax cuts forward as well as what’s called the low and middle–income tax offsets. So, we’ve looked for every opportunity to cut taxes for households, but we’ve also cut taxes for small businesses down to 25 cents in the dollar, the lowest in 50 years, and we’ve put in place those incentives for businesses to invest as well.
DAVID KOCH:
Speaking of small business, a new survey has shown business confidence in New South Wales has absolutely plunged. Almost half don’t have enough cashflow to get through the next three months. Are you thinking of supporting small business over the next two or three months as they cope with Omicron? They’ve been devastated by staff shortages, lack of stock, supply chain, and this is the time of year many industries make their money to survive.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, you’re absolutely right about the economic impact that Omicron is having. We’re seeing it in the consumer spending data. We’re seeing it in consumer confidence numbers. And we’re also obviously seeing high levels of absenteeism, which is putting real pressure on supply chains. That’s why I’m here at the Coles distribution centre, to see how recent changes agreed by National Cabinet to the isolation rules are actually making a positive difference in allowing people to get back to work and allowing our supermarkets to continue to put food on our shelves. So we are taking steps there. With respect to small businesses and relief, we do have a number of measures that are ongoing. For example, the loss carry back measure which sees a small business that makes a loss able to get a cash refund against taxes that they previously paid. We also have the small and medium‑sized business loan scheme that’s available with loans of up to $5 million. The New South Wales and Victorian Governments have already announced some changes around rental arrangements for commercial tenants so that they can get through this period. So, we do know that businesses are doing it tough, and we have measures to support them. I also point out to you, though, Kochie, that there is $370 billion on household and business balance sheets today that was not there at the start of the crisis two years ago. So, that money will be spent across the economy and, as we see cases peak, we’re hoping to see people get back to work and we’re hoping to get through this variant as we have others.
DAVID KOCH:
Treasurer, appreciate your time. Thank you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good to be with you.