ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Now, let's have a closer look at the economy. The Federal Government says that new data from the Tax Office shows it tax cuts and low income concessions have increased household incomes by around $7 billion in the past six months. For more, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg joins me now from Lorne in Victoria. Good morning to you. Lay it out for us, Treasurer.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Happy new year.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Happy new year to you, too. Looks great in Lorne. These concessions, essentially, how much money is back in the pockets, back pockets, of ordinary Australians and how is this helping the economy?
JOSH FRYDENDBERG:
Well, $7 billion has flowed through the tax cuts to the pockets of Australian families over the last six months and more than $1 billion a month will be flowing over the next nine months. Now, this is part of a broader suite of economic measures and tax cuts that have been provided by the Morrison government. As you know, on October 6th, I delivered the Budget and in that budget there were incentives for businesses to immediately expense new acquisitions. There was a loss carry-back measure which will help small business who have done it tough through COVID, get to the other side, as well as the JobMaker Hiring Credit to get young people who have been unemployed into work. There was a package to support travel agents. We are bringing forward infrastructure spending. There is a range of economic support measures. Some $250 billion in total which will help the Australian economy recover from the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
I think 85 per cent of the 1.3 million Australian whose lost their job or are on reduced hours are back at work. But these figures are all based on changing situations. The border closures between states and the lockdowns in Brisbane and in parts of Sydney, how has that affected the economic recovery?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I think there this is a feature of the pandemic that we face. It is uncertain. We have this new strain, it is more infectious and the Queensland Government took a prudent course of action, which was a short, sharp lockdown in the Brisbane area. Now, obviously we need to get the virus under control as quickly as possible and that will determine the speed and the trajectory of our economic recovery. But, as a nation we have been remarkably successful on the health front. Yesterday we saw 13 cases in Australia. Globally, there were three-quarters of a million cases. In the United States, nearly a quarter of a million cases, in the UK, 50,000 cases. So our ability to control and contain the virus – and I have to give a shout-out to New South Wales, they have been world class, best in class when it comes to contact testing and tracing – their ability to get on top of those new cases has enabled the overall economy to continue to function strongly. You are right, 85 per cent of those 1.3 million Australians who either lost their jobs or saw their working hours reduced to zero, are now back at work. We have seen business and consumer confidence come back to it pre‑COVID levels and in the September quarter we saw GDP growth of 3.3 per cent, which was the single largest quarterly increase since 1976. So there are some numbers there that should give Australians cause for optimism and hope as we begin 2021.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
You mentioned New South Wales's standard there. New South Wales have been critical of other states for closing off borders too quickly. What are you saying to other states and territories about the borders and have some states reacted too quickly?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, the states, like the Federal Government, needs to operate on the basis of the best medical advice available to it and when it comes to border closures, the principles are very clear. They need to be considered action. It needs to be compassionate. But it also needs to be common sense and obviously border closures have created a number of issues for travellers, for people living on those border towns, but we need to work through this new phase of the virus and we need to obviously see cooperation and coordination between states, territories and the Federal Government and that is where National Cabinet plays a very important role. When it got together last week under the leadership of Scott Morrison, it was able to agree on a series of new measures and new protections for the Australian community. I think that is welcome.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
JobKeeper ends in March I believe. What support can those on JobKeeper hope for after March?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the first thing to say is how successful the JobKeeper program has been. It has been the largest single income support program any Australian government has ever undertaken. $77 billion is already out the door and at its peak, it was supporting 3.6 million Australian workers and around 1 million Australian businesses. But we saw in the December quarter, the number of Australians relying on JobKeeper fall dramatically. Some 2 million Australian workers graduated from JobKeeper and there were 450,000 fewer businesses that were on JobKeeper in the month of October compared to the month of September. Now, that is a function of the economic recovery getting under way. Now, JobKeeper goes out to the end of March and that is our intention to end that program at the end of March, but it is not the only support measure that the government has put in place. We have been talking about tax cuts which is putting billions of dollars into the economy, there is the JobMaker Hiring Credit to young people from the unemployment queues into work, there is the infrastructure spending we have brought forward and support for the tourism industry, for the aviation sector. There is the Homebuilder program that was extended for another three months. All of these programs add up to a very significant package of support to help Australia get through this crisis.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Final question from me and it is not really an economic question, but it is about George Christensen. He has been retweeting and sending out misinformation that has been used by Donald Trump previously. He's an LNP member. You are a leader in the Liberal Party. Will he be spoken to? Should he be spoken to? And what needs to be done about this kind of misinformation getting out through the Australian public from it politicians?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, look, George Christensen will make decisions that he's obviously accountable to his own electorate to and he's a member of the coalition, and he is a good local Member for his constituency. When it comes to those events in the US, the Prime Minister I think spoke for the whole country and indeed for the government when he made very clear our disgust with what happened in the capital, Washington DC. Just horrible, horrible images and that attack on that beacon of democracy, the United States Congress, and as a great friend of the US, Australia stands with them through this difficult time and obviously we encourage and allow demonstrations, but they need to be peaceful. Peaceful demonstrations are the way, whether it is in the United States or here in Australia.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Josh Frydenberg, Treasurer, thank you so much for your time. It looks lovely there. I hope you are spending plenty of money at those small local businesses in Lorne.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Certainly, I am giving them certainly my share of my household income, just like many other Victorian residents are doing. It is a great picture of tranquillity here at the beaches where Australians and Victorians are getting about their summer holidays. All of the best to your viewers as they go about theirs.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Thank you.