KARL STEFANOVIC:
Good morning to you Josh, thanks for your time this morning. Boy, oh boy, I don't know who hit harder last night, Meghan Markle…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning Karl.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
….or Julie Bishop, which one did you watch?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I was on a plane actually from Townsville into Brisbane and having been in Cairns as well yesterday. So I was in your old hunting ground Karl as opposed to turning on the ABC or Oprah Winfrey.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Here is what Julie said on the ABC about the culture in Canberra last night.
[Plays excerpt]
Actually, I believe it was big swinging (BLEEP), so there was obviously an overexcited imagination on the part of some, I would suggest. But if they were seeking to block my aspirations well they didn't succeed because my ambition was to be the Foreign Minister of Australia and I am very proud to say that I served in that role for five years.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Yes, she gave extraordinary insight Josh, into her political career, a group of men within the Party repeatedly tried to block her career. They failed but she is still angry. Doesn't that illustrate the cultural problems that still exist within Parliament?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, there certainly is a need to improve and change the culture in parliament, that is why the Prime Minister has reached across the political divide, that is why the Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins has been put to work to undertake a broad based review and to speak broadly across the Parliament. That’s why one of our colleagues, Celia Hammond, a former Vice Chair of the University of Notre Dame who has got this experience in dealing with similar issues in the institutional setting is now working with our colleagues and that is why the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is also undertaking a review. There is got to be no stone left unturned in improving the culture and improving it fast around Parliament House.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
She said a coronial inquest should happen, do you agree?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well the Prime Minister has said that Christian Porter would co-operate with any such inquest and of course no-one is seeking to stand in the way of that. That’s a separate issue about a separate parliamentary-led or initiated inquiry by the Prime Minister. We don't think that is the right way to go and I understand that the former president of the Law Council of Australia has said a similar thing. Because you can't have an independent inquiry where a criminal charge is being alleged, but yet the police who look into it don't actually lay any criminal charges. That is our criminal justice system which must be the predominant and only way that these matters are dealt with.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Let's move on. When JobKeeper comes to an end do you have any idea about what the unemployment figure will go to?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, what we do know is that Treasury had forecast that even when JobKeeper ends that the unemployment rate over the course of the year will steadily come down and we saw more recent forecasts from the Reserve Bank of Australia saying that the unemployment rate, which is at 6.4 per cent today, will reach 6 per cent by the end of the year. I do think it will be bumpy in the months of April and May and we may see some challenges there. But the reality is JobKeeper was always, Karl, a temporary program.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Yes.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It is the most expensive program that the Government has ever undertaken. It supported 3.6 million people. But we also know that 2.7 million Australians have already graduated off JobKeeper. Yesterday I was in Townsville meeting with a construction company who had done exactly that.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
I mean, I know also that there are some businesses who are not going to make it and they come from those particular areas of Queensland. What do you say to a business that will have no choice but to close when JobKeeper ends. Are you going to say to them, look don't stress, you can get $350 on JobSeeker? I mean, what do you say to a business, we’re talking about families here, hardworking families?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, of course, our job is to try to preserve and create as many jobs as possible across the economy and we have actually been doing that in the face of the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Yes.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
The Prime Minister and I and other ministers will have more to say in coming days about extra initiatives on top of those ones that we have already announced, but we realise that there are sectors and there are regions that are doing it tough, but the best thing we can always do is keep those domestic borders open. It is a message I heard in Cairns yesterday from many in the tourism sector. While they are relying on international tourism, they also benefit from domestic tourism and with the roll-out of the vaccine if we stop those short border lockdowns, that will give a lot more Australians the certainty to pack their bags, hop on the plane, take a holiday and then of course spend their hard-earned money.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The reality is though, and it is good to hear that help is on its way, we look forward to seeing what that help looks like in the next couple of days, but these places need the international borders to open. What is the timeline there?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, it is going to depend on the health advice. And you have seen what the cost to the economy is when we get an outbreak and that has led to state-wide lockdowns or even to more quarterised, smaller regional lockdowns. You’ve got to get it right and that is why you’ve got to take the medical advice. That is why you also got to put in place the proper quarantine arrangements. And we are looking at opportunities like the vaccine passport and the like but we can't move too quickly and therefore compromise the overall stability of our system.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Look, two weeks of quarantine too is a massive problem for the tourism sector as well…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yes.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
…which we’ll have work through. You are also looking at apprenticeships as well to try and beef that up?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yes, we are and the Prime Minister is making an announcement about that today. We did announce last year support with a 50 per cent wage subsidy for 100,000 apprenticeships. Well that was taken up in five months and that is really good news. We are now supporting more than 220,000 apprenticeships. This is really important because they are going to be our longer-term workers of the future and if you can get them in at the bottom level as an apprentice, and keep them in, even during these challenging economic times, that is not only going to be good for them but it’s going to be good for the broader economy and so this is an important initiative. Again, we are pouring billions of dollars into supporting our new apprentices. Whether they are in the trades or whether they are in the hospitality industry or in a whole range of areas across the economy.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Good on you Josh. You having a cup of tea with Anastacia while you are there?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No, I am not, but I am speaking at the Chamber of Commerce here in Brisbane this morning and it has been a great trip in Townsville and Cairns and here in Queensland still for a few more days.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
You should be catching up with Anastacia, she is the Premier of the State. Come on!
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I am meeting with lots of colleagues of mine. That has been my priority.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
OK. There you go. Good on you Treasurer. Good to see you.