KARL STEFANOVIC:
Now on Attorney General Christian Porter and his Cabinet colleagues this morning, rejecting calls for him to stand down and for an independent inquiry to be held. Among those colleagues, Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg who joins us now. Treasurer, good morning to you. Thank you for your time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning Karl.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
A simple question to start; Do you believe Christian Porter is innocent?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well I'm not in a position to speculate on events that were 33 years ago and the Prime Minister was asked the same question of the answer remains the same which is it's the police who are the ones who will ascertain the voracity of the facts in this matter and it's the New South Wales Police who have put out a statement to say that the case is closed. That's from the New South Wales Police. The only authorised body to deal with such serious criminal allegations as this.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Were you present with Mr Porter when he was telling the Prime Minister or explaining to the Prime Minister what had happened?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No, I wasn't.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Ok. The Prime Minister said that in 2019 as you'd be very aware, about victims of sexual assault, “it's important that their stories are believed, and that they know that if they come forward their stories will be believed”. Do you believe Mr Porter's accuser?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, the same answer applies. I'm not in a position to ascertain the voracity of events 33 years ago. But I do have confidence in the police, as the body that is charged and authorise today deal with such matters. But, Karl, Australians, whether it's Christian Porter or yourself, myself or any other Australian citizen are entitled to the presumption of innocence. Christian Porter gave a lengthy statement yesterday, fronted the media and made an emphatic denial of those allegations against him. He's entitled to the presumption of innocence. We adhere to the rule of law. The police have looked at these matters and have said the case is closed.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
And as the Prime Minister said, “any victim of sexual assault should be believed”.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, every victim of sexual assault should have their opportunity to put their case, and we heard yesterday a very powerful speech in the National Press Club about victims of sexual assault coming forward. These have been very distressing days in the Parliament, and I saw yesterday aspects of Christian Porter's press conference and you could see the anguish on his face. You could see the affect that it was having on him, and of course, he has taken some time off duty in order to look after his own mental health.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
We clearly didn't get to see the anguish of the woman who was accusing him of sexual assault?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well as you know there are very tragic events and that lady tragically took her own life, and that is very distressing.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
There are still so many questions, as you would know. Are you afraid of an independent inquiry? Surely it's a chance to clear the air?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, the body that is charged is the police, and we adhere to the rule of law, and we adhere to the rule of law, and the presumption of innocence. And the police have spoken Karl. That is a very clear point here. The police are the body, and the police have spoken.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The point is there is no clear air for the Government too. The Attorney General is Australia's top legal officer, his position even in the short-term has got to be untenable now, surely.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
That's not a view that I share. In terms of the Government's focus, it's about the rollout of the vaccine and the economic recovery. Yes, it got overshadowed yesterday, but we had some very significant economic data which showed that the Australian economy had grown by 3.1 per cent, and for the first time since records began back in 1959, Australia has enjoyed two consecutive quarters of economic growth above 3 per cent. That's a very positive outcome for our economy. We have outperformed all other advanced economies. And what was particularly pleasing, Karl, in yesterday's numbers, is that it was the private sector, it was households and businesses that are driving that recovery with household consumption up, business investment up, dwelling investment being up, all of which point to the economic recovery being well under way.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Josh, they cut out of your announcement.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
They did.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
This is going to be the issue for the Government. You will not have clear air.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, I can only keep doing my job, which matters to the Australian people. Which is to steer the economy through the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression. Your viewers, watching your show this morning, no doubt, are thinking about their job security, their family members, are putting food on the table, getting their kids to school, meeting their mortgage payments. They are the matters that are important to Australians and right now our economy is performing better than all other advanced economies across the world. That is something that 25 million Australians have contributed to and that is something that 25 million Australians can be proud of.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
You're not diminishing obviously the importance of someone labelling sexual assault allegations against an Attorney General?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely. They've been very distressing events, and Christian, yesterday, fronted the media, gave an extensive statement, made an emphatic denial of those allegations against him. The police have investigated into it. These are very serious matters, but at the same time I've got to get on with my job as the Treasurer of Australia, the Prime Minister as the leader of our country, to make sure that we recover from this pandemic as fast as we can, and in the best way possible.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has been accused of calling alleged rape victim and former staffer Brittany Higgins a "lying cow". She hasn't exactly denied the allegation this morning, that's helpful for you?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Karl, she’s put out a statement in which she said she hasn't ever challenged Brittany Higgins' version of events. Now, I'm sure others will put questions to her when she is back from leave. But she has made it very clear in that statement she has never challenged Brittany Higgins' version of events.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
What do you think about that statement from her?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
From the statement that she put out?
KARL STEFANOVIC:
No, from her saying "lying cow".
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
You're saying that, the media is saying that...
KARL STEFANOVIC:
It never happened?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I haven't spoken to Linda, I can only go off the basis of her statement yesterday. And she made it very clear about the fact that she hasn't challenged Brittany Higgins' version of events.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Plenty on at the moment. Just quickly, the Australian economy grew by 3.1 per cent in the December quarter.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It did.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
I mean, that was good news yesterday before you were taken over?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It was very good news and it was significantly better than market expectations. The market was expecting 2.5 per cent, and we saw 3.1 per cent. And it's been the private sector that is driving this recovery. It's people going out and buying or building new houses. It's people, businesses that are buying new equipment and machinery which was up significantly. It's a really good winter crop that we've seen, the second best on record with farm GDP up by more than 33 per cent. And it's households, it’s families like yours, Karl, that are out there spending because they've got growing confidence in the economy, and as the vaccine rolls out I think we will even see more confidence across the economy. Yes, there are going to be some tough days ahead with JobKeeper coming to an end, yes there are sectors and regions across the economy that are doing it tough. But again, Australia is outperforming on both the health and the economic front nearly every other country in the word.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
New stuff arrives every day at my front door, Josh, we're doing our bit for the country. Good to talk to you Treasurer
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It's good to have a laugh on what is a pretty sombre and solemn day.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
It’s a difficult day. It sure is.