EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Josh we really appreciate you fitting us into your schedule today mate, thank you so much for joining us.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Thanks Eddie.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Josh good morning to you. First of all mate, what is the movement going (inaudible) conversation with the Prime Minister? Has it settled down at all from what we’re hearing from the Premier Dan Andrews who was visibly upset, and you can hear the audio there that he’s had to put 500 police to get people to pull their heads in. What’s the situation from you and from the Federal Government overnight?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well Daniel Andrews and the Prime Minister are both absolutely right. This is a deadly serious situation, and Australians and Victorians need to take this situation as seriously as they can. If we don’t put in place the social distancing requirements, if we don’t prevent these major social gatherings, then the virus will spread to more people, and it’s not just the vulnerable elderly who are in danger, it’s the broader population. You only have to see what has happened in the United States and in Italy, and the lockdown and the pain and the death that has been caused by the coronavirus over there, to know that if we don’t take these measures, it will get worse here at home. So the measures that were announced by the Prime Minister reflecting agreement at the National Cabinet last night, based on medical advice, is that the clubs, is that the casinos, is that the cinemas, will close from midday today. And the cafes and the restaurants Eddie, will move to takeaway only. This is what we need to do at phase one to protect the public from the broader spread of the virus.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Can I ask you Josh, we’ve got a lot of calls coming through this morning from the building industry, you may not know the answer to this but are they still able to work? Is that an essential service? Or is there degrees of essential service in the building industry at the moment?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well there will be a range of workplaces that will still be able to go forward as long as they have put in place these restrictions around social distancing. That’s the key point. That is what will affect those particular industries and the Prime Minister was very clear that only those particular gatherings that he announced last night will be banned from midday today. So he didn’t mention the construction industry in that context. What we do know in relation to schools is that the states work on different timetables, and Daniel Andrews has made clear of when the schools will rise here this week in Victoria. But his expectation is that the schools will be able to come back in the next term, but again that will only depend on the medical advice giving that an all clear.
LUKE DARCY:
Josh thanks for joining us. The amount of jobs that have already been lost in the hospitality sector, in the gym industry and in the industries that have been shut down as of midday today, are in the tens and tens of thousands. We’re getting so many calls from people saying, what do I do with my mortgage? What do I do with my rent? How do I stay in my house? How do I sustain myself? Have you got any advice for people this morning that are about to run out of cash?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Okay let me make a few points. The first is, I’ve been working hand in glove with the banks, where they have provided to all small businesses loans that they will not have to provide interest payments, or principal payments, for the next six months. So if you are a small business person that has mortgaged your home, and you fit that particular threshold that they’ve set, and you’ve got a car loan or you’ve taken out a loan to do a fit out of your shop, you won’t have interest and principal payments for the next six months. That’s really important. Some of the banks have gone further to say if you’ve got a mortgage and you’re not a small business person, then you'll also have that fee relief or that interest payment relief. So every bank has set up their own structures and their own systems to take calls from their customers who have felt their income being significantly reduced or their jobs lost as a result of the coronavirus, to get that help. So please contact your bank as soon as possible. The second thing is that yesterday the Prime Minister and I announced an unprecedented enhancement of Australia’s safety net, to cushion the blow of those people who are doing it tough. So we’re creating a new $550 payment which is available to people whose income falls below $1,075 a fortnight. So you’ll get $550 a fortnight if your income has fallen below $1,075 a fortnight, and you will also, depending on your income, be able to access Newstart as well which brings the total to just over $1,100. So we’ve significantly beefed up that safety net. The other thing that we’re doing, and by the way that applies to a sole trader, so if you’re a sole trader and you’re listening and you just employ yourself, and there are millions of them, or you're a casual worker and you’ve still got a few hours, and you’ve still got a few customers, you can still access this $550 payment in full if your income is below $1,075 a fortnight. The other thing that we’ve done, Darce and Eddie, is that we’re giving people early access to their superannuation. So if your income or your hours worked has fallen more than 20% from the 1st January this year, then you can take up to $10,000 of your superannuation this financial year, and up to $10,000 out of your superannuation next financial year. And normally if you’re in a situation of financial hardship, you’d face a tax rate of about 22 per cent when you take money out of your super. We’re now saying it is completely tax free. So we want people to obviously access their leave entitlements from their existing employer, we want people to use their savings if they’ve got them, but we also want people to be able to benefit from a much bigger and more generous social welfare safety net.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Well Josh that’s fantastic work you’ve done. It’s such a hard time for people. As the Treasurer, can you just say to people this morning who are getting up, we’ve got a lot of people who are just so nervous, so uptight, I think everybody is frightened in the community. Is there any words of comfort other than what you’ve said there, and that’s the tangible words that you’ve been able to put together with these wonderful plans that you’ve put in place, what can you say to people this morning?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I’d say to them that we will do what it takes to support the community at this time. There will be the other side of this Eddie. We will get to the other side because we know that there will be a vaccine for the coronavirus. But until we get there, it’s going to be tough. This is war by another means. I mean these are unprecedented situations and people need to look after one another, people need to respect one another, people need to remember that we are Australians first and foremost. We’re one community. We’re not Victorians and then Australians. We’re all Australians and this is our Team Australia moment and whether somebody is working in the private sector or in the public sector, whether someone’s a health professional or a politician, whether someone’s a radio personality or a brick layer. We’re all in this together and we’re all equal. And I can tell you from the Prime Minister down, we will do everything possible, and I'm talking to Daniel Andrews regularly, so is the Prime Minister, I spoke to Tim Pallas the State Treasurer yesterday, we’re in constant contact and we’re all working towards supporting Aussie jobs and Aussie businesses.
LUKE DARCY:
Josh I love your line ‘Team Australia’ and that is the spirit we’re trying to capture here on the Hot Breakfast this morning and get people into that mode [inaudible]. You mentioned individual areas like a hairdresser or a brick layer you said or vet care. I mean essential services, Josh, is probably something people are trying to work out. You’ve closed down the pubs, the bars, the gyms, the cinemas, the cafes, but can you go to your local hairdresser? Does it extend…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
…You can, and Darce how people need to think about it, is that these places of mass social gatherings, we cannot enforce effectively that social distancing requirement that we need, right, it’s just too difficult at that pub, at that club, at the cinema in the way that we would need to. So what we have said is that those social gathering places will be closed from midday, that’s the medical advice. But in other places of work, whether it’s in the construction industry or whether it’s at that hairdresser, you may be able to put in place those responsible social distancing measures and then be able to work it through. But I just want to make it also very clear, this is phase one, and the virus is continuing to evolve and continuing to spread. So nothing is set and forget, and the medical experts are continuing to assess the situation, and as long as they provide us advice to do something, we will do it.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Josh we’re getting a number of calls through from people saying, do we have to continue paying our bills?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well that’s where every energy company, every landlord, every bank needs to work proactively and generously with their customers. Because there’s an alignment of interests here, Eddie. We want the banks to get to the other side and we want all their customers, their businesses, to get to the other side, and so do they. Because if you’re going to have a healthy bank, you need a healthy set of customers. And so we’re all in this together.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
One final one, Stuart from Bellgrave has called through. He said he is a self-funded retiree, his rental property is his main stream of income and his tenant can't pay. Where does he go with that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, there’s work that’s being done for landlords by the state governments, looking at what sort of ability they can give to waive particular land taxes and the like, which then can be passed on to the tenant in the form of a rent-free holiday if you like. So there are things that are being thought of and worked through by the state governments in that respect.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Good on you Josh. You're a busy man mate and we appreciate you taking the time out this morning to speak to Triple M’s Hot Breakfast and the people of Melbourne. You always make yourself available. You’re going through a really complex time yourself mate but you're doing what the [inaudible] I thought your performance yesterday at the press conference with the Prime Minister was fantastic…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
…Thanks Eddie.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
And as you said this is step one, there are more steps to come. But we’re all pretty confident that we’ve got somebody who’s running the show with compassion but also with great intellect. So good luck mate.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I appreciate that and look all the very best to all your listeners today. They need to be reassured that we will stand with them all the way.