JIM WILSON:
I’m very happy to say that the Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has made his way from Question Time here at Parliament House to join me live here on Drive. Treasurer, we speak a lot on air, but we’re never face to face. This is great.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And I thought you were 3 ft 4, and now I see you in real life and you’re 6 ft 6. A towering figure. Both behind the microphone and in person. But great to see you, Jim, and to be with your listeners. And welcome to the hot house of Parliament House.
JIM WILSON:
Well, I tell you what, there’s never a dull moment. Now, your colleague Greg Hunt, who’s done an outstanding job as the Federal Health Minister, is expected to announce his retirement from politics at the next election. The formal announcement expected tomorrow. He’s been in the parliament for more than two decades. You paid tribute to him earlier this afternoon. He has been – I think he’s been outstanding, and, in particular, during this pandemic.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely. Well, it’s not for me to confirm or deny those rumours. But what I can say is he’s my best mate in this place. We’ve known each other before going into politics. I had the good pleasure and the honour of being the godfather to his daughter, and he has returned the favour being the godfather to mine. And he has really stepped up to the plate over the course of this pandemic. For anyone involved in government it’s been challenging, let alone for the community and our frontline health workers and Defence Force personnel, who are the real heroes. But on a Health Minister, to try to put together all the pieces in this jigsaw, it’s been very trying. And he’s been brilliant. He’s been outstanding. And the results speak for themselves. Australia now has one of the highest vaccination rates anywhere in the world and one of the lowest fatality rates anywhere in the world. Just over 2,000 lives have been lost here in Australia, and every life that has been lost has been sacred. But at the same time, in the US over 750,000 people have lost their lives. So, we have to keep a sense of perspective and proportion to what has been achieved here in Australia, both on the health front and on the economic front, and Greg deservedly can take some credit for that.
JIM WILSON:
Could others follow Greg’s – I mean, Greg is expected to make some sort of announcement tomorrow. Do you think others might follow? I’m going to refer here to Christian Porter here, for example. Could he be leaving politics at the next federal election?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Again, Jim, it’s not for me to speculate on the speculation. But I can say also in the case of Christian, he’s a valued colleague and friend and has done a lot of good work in this place.
JIM WILSON:
Okay. We’ve got a budget coming up in March. It’s our earliest budget in the history of Australian politics. No pressure, just four to six weeks out from a federal election. What sort of budget can we expect, do you think?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
A budget that secures the economic recovery of Australia. We’re not out of this pandemic, as we’ve seen with Omicron and the decision to pause the restart of humanitarian, skilled workers and international students. But the good news for the economy is the Delta lockdowns have now ended. We’ve seen an easing of restrictions across New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT. And since the start of September, Jim, 350,000 jobs have come back. And even after this biggest economic shock since the Great Depression, unemployment today is lower than when we came to government. We’ve got a record number of trade apprentices in a job right now. We’ve seen 320,000 Australians get into a home over the course of the last three years as a result of programs like HomeBuilder. We’ve seen investment intentions of businesses, big and small, dramatically increase off the back of the business investment incentives I’ve announced in recent budgets. And we’ve also seen retail pick up. We saw a 4.9 per cent increase in retail sales in the month of October, and the Black Friday sales just last week, according to the retailers, saw more than $5 billion spent, which was a 50 per cent increase on the year before. So I want your listeners to look to Christmas with some confidence, with some optimism. And they should also know that next year the economy is going to strengthen even further. More people are going to find work. More businesses are going to invest. And we’re going to effectively learn to live with this virus.
JIM WILSON:
It’s tough, though, isn’t it, to get the balance right? We had to spend during the pandemic. We had to. But that deficit and that debt has spiralled. How do you strike the right medium, especially when you’re going towards an election? You’re trying to repair the budget but also having to add some sweeteners ahead of the federal election?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Jim, we’ve brought those emergency support measures to an end, so you might remember with JobKeeper we extended it out for an extra six months. It helped save 700,000 jobs. And yet the Labor Party were criticising us for bringing that to an end. That was the right call. Then we had those COVID disaster payments of up to $750 a week for people who lost work in New South Wales, for example. And we brought those to an end and, again, the Labor Party criticised us for bringing that to an end. They wanted to keep the taps on. We have brought that emergency support to an end and we’re moving to the next phase of the economic transition – infrastructure spending, skills, investments, tax relief for people. But the way to improve the budget bottom line, which is at the heart of your question and pay back some of that debt, is to grow the economy. And it might surprise your listeners to know that between the last budget I announced last October and what was the effective final budget outcome for the year 2021, there was an $80 billion improvement. Why? Because more people were in work, less people were on welfare. So when you’re in work, you’re paying your tax. That’s how you improve the budget.
JIM WILSON:
Okay. So election not too far after the budget. The national accounts figures out today which revealed our economy shrunk 1.9 per cent in the three months to September. That period comes right off the back of lockdowns in our biggest cities. Are you confident this downward trend is about to change?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I’m certainly confident of a strong December quarter, and that’s what the economists and that’s what Treasury tell me. And let’s not forget, we’ve had a stronger economic recovery than nearly any advanced economy in the world. We’ve actually seen a better bounce back, even taking into account today’s numbers, than Germany, than Italy, than Japan, than the United Kingdom, than Canada. And all Australians can be proud of that.
JIM WILSON:
Okay. I’ve got to ask you about income tax and obviously tax cuts. Can you – what can you say to our listeners as far as, can they expect some relief, as far as personal income tax cuts?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, firstly, again, I’m not going to speculate on headlines ahead of next year’s budget. What I can say, though, is our track record has been of reducing taxes. And if you’re a listener to your program today and you’re on $60,000 a year, a teacher or a nurse or a tradie, and you have been earning that amount, you’re $6,480 better off in terms of the tax you’re paying as a result of the taxes that we’ve already passed through the parliament and are implementing. We’re getting rid of a whole tax bracket, Jim. So we’re getting rid of the 37 cents in the dollar tax bracket. 95 per cent of Australians will pay a marginal rate of income tax no more than 30 cents in the dollar. That’s never been done before. And we are really focused on lowering taxes. Why? Because we want people to keep more of what they earn. We want to encourage aspiration. We want to reward effort. It actually goes to the heart of our values and our political philosophy. And that’s why we are continuing trying to cut taxes, whether it’s small businesses or whether it’s households.
JIM WILSON:
I’m speaking to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in our Canberra Parliament House studio here in Canberra. National Cabinet met late yesterday. Thankfully at this stage the states are committed to staying the course on interstate borders, despite the reluctance to allow this new strain of the virus into the country. Do you have faith in these state leaders to not panic and impose border closures or, God forbid, dreaded lockdowns moving forward?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I’d obviously implore those state leaders to not panic, to…
JIM WILSON:
Do you fear that they will hold – stay the course?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, so far the language has been measured. But it is really important that everyone keeps their heads right now and that we keep a sense of proportion. We don’t fully understand the severity of this new variant. We don’t fully understand the transmissibility of this new variant, nor how much of a defence the existing vaccines people have taken will be against this variant. But what we do know is that we will have to live, not just with the virus but with variants, both Omicron and others into the future. And we just don’t want to go back to lockdowns, Jim. It was too much of an economic cost. But, dare I say it, there’s also a human cost as well. Patrick McGorry has spoken about the “shadow pandemic”. I’m sure you know lots of families with members, young and old, who were really tossed about by the implications of the lockdowns and what it meant for them and their wellbeing. So we don’t want to go back there.
JIM WILSON:
Okay. Quick one before you go. We do appreciate your time. The report handed down by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner yesterday into workplace culture here at Parliament was some pretty disturbing reading.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It was.
JIM WILSON:
What was your reaction to the findings, and how long before your government starts implementing the 28 recommendations of this parliamentary abuse report?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it’s a very important report and it’s been provided by a specialist in her field and someone deeply respected across both sides of the political aisle – Kate Jenkins. She has a number of recommendations in there, Jim, so they’re going to be worked through, through a multi‑party process. Because this is about the parliament. It’s not about a particular political party. So it does make for pretty, you know, serious reading, and it does need to be acted on, and that’s what we’re seeking to do.
JIM WILSON:
And when do you think the first of those recommendations, a time frame…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, the process is just kicking off because the report was obviously made public yesterday.
JIM WILSON:
Okay. We thank you for your time. It’s actually nice to chat face to face.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It is, Jim. And best to your family.
JIM WILSON:
And yours too.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Hopefully I’ll see you before Christmas. We’ve got a mid‑year economic and fiscal update coming mid‑December. There’ll be lots of economic news to talk about, so hopefully this is not the last time. But all the best to your listeners for what is a most deserving and hopefully enjoyable and safe Christmas break.
JIM WILSON:
Same to you and your family. Thank you, Treasurer.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Thanks, Jim.
JIM WILSON:
That’s the federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg. It is 28 past 4.
Okay, so we’ve just – the Treasurer, who’s just still actually with me – we’re just hearing some breaking news, Treasurer. Sky News is reporting that Christian Porter is set to quit politics. So, again, I might just get your quick reaction to that, because we’re just hearing – this is just breaking news on Sky News. Treasurer?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Jim, I’m just looking at the headlines, as you are, so I don’t want to comment until, you know, I’ve seen any comments that Christian may or may not make. But, again, he’s a valued colleague. He’s someone who’s made a strong contribution in this place and, indeed, in state politics before that.
JIM WILSON:
Thank you for sticking around.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Thank you.