ERIN MOLAN:
So let's get stuck into the show. Cost of living, the biggest issue for everyday Australians heading into the election. So how will the government address it on Tuesday? Let's go straight to the man charged with doing exactly that. Josh Frydenberg.
Thank you so much for ducking out of lockdown. Treasurer, this is high pressure for you. If the polls are to be believed, this budget could be the only shot the coalition have of winning this election. Are you up to it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, this budget delivers for Australian families. It's obviously coming, Erin, at a time where we're seeing heightened tensions internationally in the Ukraine. The country is responding to the devastating floods across Queensland and New South Wales, and the pandemic is not over. But this budget will deliver cost of living relief now in a responsible, in a targeted, in a temporary way. It will deliver a long term economic plan to create more jobs with further investments in energy and infrastructure and skills and supporting small business. It will guarantee the essential services that your viewers and all Australians rely on, whether it's mental health or disability support, aged care, school and hospital funding. And it will invest more in national security and defence because we need to ensure that our country can respond to the threats that we face.
ERIN MOLAN:
If it does deliver all of that, does that win you the election?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well we've got a very strong record to campaign on. As you know, unemployment today is at its equal lowest for 48 years, which is a real achievement for 26 million Australians, given Australia's experience during previous recessions, where the unemployment rate was elevated for some time. But more importantly than that, we've got the plan for Australia's economic future. And that's what I'll lay out in the budget on Tuesday night. And it's a plan for the times. It's a plan that responds not just to the here and now, but for the long term future of Australia.
ERIN MOLAN:
You are expected to announce one off payments, I think, of around $250 to some income support recipients, self funded retirees also expected to get a significant boost. Are you trying to buy votes?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Erin, of course, I'm not going to get into the pre budget speculation about one initiative or another that may or may not be in the budget. But in terms of cost of living relief, we recognise that's a real pressure on household budgets. People are being very challenged by the higher petrol prices, the higher food prices, and because there's been supply side constraints around the world during COVID, we've seen freight costs up to five times as high as they were going into the pandemic and that plays itself out all the way to the supermarket shelf. So these are real pressures on households, and that is what we'll be responding to in the budget on Tuesday night. It's all about Australian families. That's our focus.
ERIN MOLAN:
There are absolutely real pressure on Australians. The expected commentary emerged this week that someone earning your salary, which is above average, couldn't possibly understand what it's like to do it tough. Do you get it personally?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I certainly understand that the number one topic around the kitchen tables of Australia right now is cost of living. And we've seen the barrel of oil go up by 50 per cent since the start of this year, and that's seen petrol prices above $2 a litre, and that really stretches household budgets. We know that, for example, wheat prices are up by 40 per cent as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. That plays itself out to the price of food here in Australia. And as I said earlier, the freight costs have dramatically increased transport costs and that gets passed on to consumers. So I certainly understand the pressures that Australian families are under and we're listening and we're responding.
ERIN MOLAN:
Are you worried that after two years of spending to insulate Aussies from the economic fallout of the pandemic, that this has now become an expectation of sorts, that everyday Aussies expect you to bail them out whenever things get tough?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Erin, what we'll see in the budget on Tuesday night is a material improvement in the bottom line. We are banking the dividend of a stronger economy, so more people in work, therefore paying more tax and fewer people on welfare, therefore less government expenditure, and we're using that to improve the budget bottom line. So that's very important for the trajectory of debt going forward. But we took the necessary action during the peak of this crisis, when the Australian economy effectively went into hibernation. And you remember the images back in March and April 2020, there were literally hundreds of thousands of our fellow Australians lining up outside Centrelink having lost their jobs. There were scenes that were reminiscent of the Great Depression. We know that small businesses not only saw their doors closed, but many saw their lifelong savings being put at risk or indeed lost. And there was great fear across the community. And we responded with programs like JobKeeper, which actually put a floor under the economy, gave employers the confidence to keep their employees on, and was a big part of the reason why we are where we are today with an unemployment rate at 4 per cent, remembering that under Labor was 5.7 per cent and remembering that Labor said as the single biggest test, they said for us would be what happens to jobs and unemployment? Well, today we're at the equal lowest for 48 years and our economy has outperformed all major advanced economies, including the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany and France. That's a really strong economic record to campaign on, and it's a result of the economic support that we have been putting in place.
ERIN MOLAN:
Treasurer, character seems to have played a big part in the lead up to this election. The character of your leader, Scott Morrison, and of Anthony Albanese, the Opposition leader. Why does Scott Morrison win a character test in your eyes?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Scott Morrison, I think, has done an extraordinary job in extraordinary times. Again, COVID was a once in a century pandemic, the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression. And now Australia has seen one of the strongest economic recoveries in the world, Erin, as well as having one of the highest vaccination rates anywhere in the world. And we've avoided the morgues of Central Park that you saw in New York at the start of this crisis when we have one of the lowest mortality rates anywhere in the world. So he has shown great character through very difficult times. He's a person of faith, obviously, strong family values as well, and he's been a great partner for me as the Prime Minister and the Treasurer work very closely together, and I think he's led Australia strongly.
ERIN MOLAN:
What about childcare? I like you earn above average salary, I'm now a newly single mum. It stings me, the cost of childcare, so I can't imagine how difficult it is for other families. A lot of my girlfriends don't go back to work because it's just not economically viable in their family situation. I know you're doing things. I know that at the start of this month there was a little bit of easing of cost, but I don't think it's enough. What can you do?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, firstly, the government is spending over $10 billion a year in childcare, a record amount. And as you refer to Erin, we announced in last year's budget a $1.7 billion initiative which has now come into force, which will see a single mum on $65,000 with two kids in long day care save more than $70 a week. And the measures that we have taken are expected by Treasury to see some 300,000 additional hours of work a week as parents are able to better afford those costs of childcare. Because we've made changes around the caps. We've made changes about the rebates that people receive and that's having a material effect, and that's going to be good news for the economy as well. So we are taking action. That action is now providing support to Australians.
ERIN MOLAN:
Treasurer, a good friend of mine, Dave Hughes, comedian, is coming on this show towards the end. Now, I heard a rumour that you tried to get him to perform at your 50th birthday party during COVID, but it was canned. As Treasurer of this country, I need to trust your judgment. That worries me. Would you have thought of maybe finding a funny comedian?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I could only find one comedian that barracks for Carlton and that's Dave Hughes so he got the gig. But he's a funny guy. He likes to remind me that he was once on the dole and he's always making jokes at my expense. And so it does pay to be able to laugh at yourself. And so I knew that if Dave turned up, he'd make a mockery of me and people wouldn't be laughing with me, they'd be laughing at me and I don't mind that when Dave Hughes is delivering the lines but as you know, he performs every year at the Lorne Pub and my wife and I have turned up to be in the audience and he always singles me out to make fun of me so I'm just a sucker for punishment, obviously. He's a good man, Dave Hughes.
ERIN MOLAN:
Clearly.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And I closely follow his Twitter feed and I have to say he hasn't pulled his punches over the last couple of years during COVID and good on him for doing that.
ERIN MOLAN:
Absolutely. I think people will be very pleasantly surprised on this network what he has to offer. Treasurer, thank you so much. We look forward to what you deliver on Tuesday and hopefully you get a little bit of rest after that.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Thanks Erin, all the best to you and vote one Dave Hughes.