ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Now let’s stay with politics and bring in the Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who’s at a Coles distribution centre in Melbourne this morning. Good morning to you, Treasurer. I hope you’re feeling better after catching COVID‑19. How are you doing, actually, after all of that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
On the mend, just as many other Australians are who have contracted the virus. It wasn’t a walk in the park. It’s no teddy bear picnic. You know, I had the common symptoms of cold sweats and headaches and various aches and pains. But it did pass and, you know, it lingers a little bit, the fatigue. But fortunately Omicron is 75 per cent less severe compared to Delta, and fortunately, you know, I had the vaccinations and the booster shot as well.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Well, there’s plenty of economic issues to chat about. But first of all, I have to ask you about Novak Djokovic, just because the Serbian government, their leader, have described it as scandalous, akin to torment and mental and physical torture. How do you respond as a senior member of government to these claims from another government?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I obviously don’t accept that characterisation, which was a legal process here in Australia. The rules are the rules. It doesn’t matter if you’re Novak Djokovic and the No 1 tennis player in the world or Betty from Utah. If you’re unvaccinated and you come to Australia, you need to adhere to what are the ATAGI guidelines and the other conditions that are set. Now, Greg Hunt in a very clear letter, explicitly set out what the conditions were to Tennis Australia back in late November for tennis players to come to Australia who were unvaccinated. Now, Novak Djokovic did not meet those conditions. The ultimate decision was left to the Immigration Minister Alex Hawke. He made that decision, and that was upheld unanimously by a full court of the Federal Court, and that’s where it stands. But no‑one’s bigger than the Australian Open, certainly no‑one’s bigger than the pandemic, or no‑one is above the rules that we have in place at our borders that have helped keep us safe through this pandemic.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
On to some economics now, and there’s a survey by Business NSW that says 40 per cent of the 2,000 businesses they surveyed don’t have enough cash flow to get through the next three months and business confidence there is slumping because of the Omicron surge. That does not look good. What is happening with the economic climate right now? How do you respond to some pretty startling figures?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the Omicron variant is another challenge for us. It’s a new phase of the virus, and it’s a reminder that the pandemic is far from over. So it is affecting consumer spending. It is affecting consumer and business confidence, and we’ve seen a large number of workers who are absent from the workforce and that’s put real pressure on our supply chains. Now the government has in place a number of measures at both federal and state level to assist businesses and to ensure that the supply chains keep going. At the federal level we have a loss carry back measure for small businesses which allows them, if they’re making losses today, to receive a cash refund against taxes that they’ve already paid. We also have a small and medium‑sized business loan guarantee scheme. The New South Wales and Victorian governments have already announced some changes around rental conditions for commercial tenants which will help businesses through this process. But we do know that since the start of the pandemic households and businesses have accumulated some $370 billion that was not there at the start of the pandemic. So it is going to be difficult in the coming weeks, particularly as the Omicron case numbers start to peak. But we will also get through it and we’ve seen how resilient the economy is. And just today Deloitte Economics have come out and said they’re seeing signs of resilience and recovery across the economy.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Well, we’re hearing it described as a shadow lockdown/ A lockdown effect without an actual lockdown being declared. And businesses are calling for a return to pandemic paid support, relief packages. Is that being considered?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Not at this point. What we do have is those measures I’ve announced already. But we’ve also got the pandemic leave payment for workers who have to isolate because they have tested positive and have COVID or, indeed, if they’re close contacts and are symptomatic. But we are working across the economy to alleviate some of these pressures on the workforce to ensure that the economy can keep working through. This is not an issue that is only being experienced in Australia. It’s one that in the UK, the United States, Canada and other jurisdictions across the world that have seen a spike in Omicron cases are also experiencing. And today I’m out at a distribution centre to see how recent changes at National Cabinet around close contacts have actually made a difference and are seeing people getting back to work.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Well, on that, you are at a distribution centre out there in Melbourne’s west. Hearing from the unions and some economists that the changes to isolation rules will actually make things worse for supply chains because workers will keep getting sick and spreading it further. How can you push ahead with this when you’re hearing this from unions and some economists now?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we’ve actually been working with our health professionals, with the AHPPC, with the Chief Medical Officer, and working through how we can change these rules in a COVID‑safe way but allows the economy to keep going. We need to keep food on the shelves, we need the trucks to continue to ensure their deliveries, we need the abattoirs to keep working. Indeed, we need water and energy and telecommunications and other essential services to keep going. We need our schools to open at term 1 and to stay open, because if schools close or childcare centres close, Treasury could see absenteeism spike even further as parents have to stay home to look after their kids. So the economy is a complex ecosystem, and every bit is connected to the other. And we’re trying to balance here a series of objectives, not just the health objective but also the economic objective. And what is absolutely clear from the health advice is that while Omicron is highly transmissible it is less severe and people like myself can have the virus but not be hospitalised and can get through it after those days required in isolation.
ISKHANDAR RAZAK:
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, thank you very much.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
My pleasure.