KIERAN GILBERT:
Mr Frydenberg thanks very much for your time. As Andrew suggested there, the PM said in the newspaper this morning, ‘we want people to go about their normal lives, going to work, going to school as much as possible.’ The fact is, people aren’t going about their normal lives are they? Like in your own seat, there are schools now war gaming, teaching remotely, and I know there are going to be trials in a number of schools in your seat this week. Geelong Grammar is shutting down from Wednesday, people aren’t going about their normal lives are they?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well this is a very challenging time, not just for Australia but for the world. We haven’t seen something like this in a century. It truly is a global pandemic with major economic impacts as well as primarily being a health crisis. But what has consistently driven us in our response, Kieran, has been to take the advice of the medical experts and as well as reserving the right to go further if we so wish and that has served Australia well. We were quick to put in place travel restrictions, our strategy has been around containment, about flattening out that curve and ensuring that our health system gets the resources we need. And just over the last week we’ve seen a $2.4 billion health package, a $17.6 billion stimulus package and Australia’s first National Cabinet, where the Prime Minister comes together with State and Territory leaders across political lines to act in the national interest and I think that’s a very significant and positive development.
KIERAN GILBERT:
But the point is, we see principals, school communities in your electorate taking it upon themselves to say let’s trial teaching remotely. They’re looking at the decisions made by the Government, gatherings of 500 plus banned from tomorrow, and I guess making the comparison like many people are, what’s the difference between that and a thousand kids at school?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, you can only take the best possible medical advice and no doubt when the National Cabinet comes together today they will be hearing from the Chief Medical Officer and they’ll be obviously assessing recent developments around the world and here in Australia. That’s what you’d expect such a body to be doing and that’s what it will do.
KIERAN GILBERT:
So school closures are possible then, and likely?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, we take the advice of the medical experts. But all recent developments both here and overseas, as well as all possible options, no doubt will be assessed.
KIERAN GILBERT:
But let’s look at the situation internationally, I started the program with it. France shut down restaurants, bars, cafes; Israel shut down public transport and gyms; Norway shut down all their airports. Why is the Government saying that these draconian measures might not be necessary when our viewers, the public, are looking internationally, they know where this is heading?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well what your viewers and what the Australian people want is for the Government to be getting the best possible medical advice, which we are, and then acting on that advice. And again, today’s an opportunity to hear from the Chief Medical Officer. We’ll also be having a National Security Committee meeting of which the Chief Medical Officer will be at, and again, you know, the Government will assess all recent developments and look at all possible options in light of that medical advice.
KIERAN GILBERT:
We’ve got the community awareness campaign starting this weekend. Has it been, has it taken too long to get that up and running? Your critics say it’s taken too long to get that message out there, that there’s confusion and that’s also led to some of the panic that we’re seeing?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well as you know the Chief Medical Officer has been a very prominent figure, publically, over the duration of this health crisis. There’s been daily briefings. There’s been, fact sheets have been provided, and as you say there’s a broader communications campaign already underway, whether it’s social media, whether it’s in the newspapers or television. So there has been a constant flow of information and that will continue to be the case with this formal campaign.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Have there been some mixed messages though like, for example, the PM again today saying we want people to go about their normal lives or him saying I’m going to the football, he’s since retracted, but the Australian people, viewers, as I say, everyone watching this morning, knows this is not situation normal Treasurer.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well nobody is saying that. I mean, like I said it’s a global pandemic. It’s a one in a hundred year event with far reaching consequences for the globe and Australia is not immune but we are well prepared and I think that should reassure those watching today and the broader Australian community that we have one of the best health systems in the world. We have universal healthcare. What we have is a $17.6 billion stimulus package which has been well received, by not just the business community but far wider than that, and that will give the support to the economy at this difficult time. And now we have the National Cabinet coming together so that all Chief Ministers and Premiers and the Prime Minister are accessing the same information, adopting a common approach and that should give the Australian community confidence at a time when it is obviously very difficult.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Yes it is very difficult, but is it time also for the PM to level with the Australian people, not to be talking about situation getting on with your normal lives or going to the footy, to level with them as to how grave this situation is?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well I think the Prime Minister has been very upfront about the serious nature of this global pandemic. He’s been leading from the front in the National Security Committee. He’s been engaged daily with all the experts and we moved ahead of the rest of the world in putting in place some of those travel restrictions. And the spread of the coronavirus here in Australia has not been as great as in other countries. That being said, we’re aware of the challenges ahead, that’s why we have announced that significant health package with extra financial support for everything from antivirals and masks to medical research to telehealth and to training for our aged-care workers. There’s a whole lot of fronts that we are undertaking initiatives on simultaneously.
KIERAN GILBERT:
We’ve seen New Zealand quarantine every overseas traveller for two weeks, asking them to self-isolate. Out of the war cabinet which you’re going to be involved in today with the State and Territory leaders as well as the Prime Minister, could we see tougher measures like that out of today’s National Cabinet?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well again, no options are off the table. What we will do is take the advice of the medical experts and assess international and domestic developments at both the NSC level and I’m sure the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers will do the same at their National Cabinet. But again, unequivocally, our first, second and third priority is the safety of Australians. That’s why we have taken the advice of the medical experts every step of the way and we’ll continue to do so.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Now the stimulus, you mentioned it, you said it repeatedly that it’s going to be scalable. Do you accept it’s inevitable there will be another round of support stimulus needed in the Budget?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well we’ve just announced a $17.6 billion package. That is targeted, all the measures are temporary and it’s also proportionate to the challenge we face. Treasury’s best advice to me, Kieran, was that we should be looking at a package of around one per cent of GDP. That’s what this package is. And it’s also front ended so of the $17.6 billion, $11 billion goes out the door before June 30. There is an overwhelming focus on supporting businesses and their cash flow, with $3 out of every $4 going to backing business. We’ve got two initiatives designed to boost investment, with the accelerated depreciation being lifted to 50 per cent as well as the extension of the instant asset write off from $30,000 to $150,000. We’ve got two initiatives supporting the cash flow of businesses with a wage subsidy of 50 per cent for 117,000 apprentices, as well as cash payments of up to $25,000 for small and medium sized businesses. And then we’ve got the $750 cash payments going to 6.5 million Australians who have a propensity to consume. So it’s a very significant package. We will obviously watch how it is implemented and the effect that it has throughout the community. But the coronavirus is not going away, the economic impact is significant and we are approaching this from a position of strength, which has given us the financial flexibility to respond in the way that we have.
KIERAN GILBERT:
The package has been praised by Chris Richardson, Warren Hogan, other respected economists and analysts, there’s no doubt about that. But we’re facing what is a huge, as you say, challenge, more likely greater now than the impact of the GFC once we see all these sporting events closed. There will be businesses shut down. Are you worried about, not just a recession, but much higher unemployment at the end of all of this?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Kieran, I know that the Australian economy has approached this economic challenge from a position of strength. As you know, at the end of last year we saw growth through the year rise from 1.8 per cent in the September quarter to 2.2 per cent in the December quarter. We actually saw unemployment come down and we’ve seen from both the OECD and the IMF as well as the credit rating agencies like Standard and Poor’s commentary, saying that the Australian Government’s fiscal position is strong, and that we are better prepared than many other nations for this challenge ahead. So we approach it from a position of strength. We’ve got the Budget in just eight weeks’ time. But we will undertake the measures necessary to continue to support the economy and to keep Australians in a job.
KIERAN GILBERT:
But there are many businesses already copping it from the back of the fires. Now, with this global pandemic, there will be many businesses that shut down over coming months, won’t there?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It’s going to be very challenging, but by the same token, we’ve heard back from businesses since our announcement in the communications industry, in the transport industry, that they’ve decided to undertake investments now, that they had delayed or deferred because of the conditions. So now they’re undertaking these investments, and spending money in the economy, because of the incentives that we announced in the stimulus package just days ago. This is a very significant package, I think it’s right for the time, and of course we reserve our right to take further measures in the Budget in just eight weeks’ time.
KIERAN GILBERT:
But do you see now, it’s almost quaint to be talking about a surplus now, because it’s all about trying to avoid a recession, which seems very unlikely right now?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well the surplus was never an end in itself. It was always about Australia living within its means. As you know, we took pretty conservative commodity price forecasts and we based our assessment, as recently as MYEFO, on the best available advice to us. So we were actually on track for a surplus but we consciously took decisions to spend money where it’s needed most. That has been our priority and we will take the same decisions again. Our priority has been to support the Australian economy, and the fact that when we came to Government, Kieran, there was a $48.5 billion deficit, the fact that we’ve delivered the first balanced budget in eleven years, means that we’ve actually got the books in order to spend at this very moment when the Australian economy needs it.
KIERAN GILBERT:
What do you say to the parents and grandparents of children, young people with disabilities, this morning, who would be very worried about their kids in the face of this global pandemic? Is there enough support financially with personnel to provide those individuals with care? There are 300,000 people on the NDIS as we speak this morning.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely this is of concern. To those families, to the Government, to ensure that the senior and aged members of our community, those with disabilities and many others who are disadvantaged are getting the support that they need because this is an unprecedented period of time. The Government is obviously working through everything possible so that those people get the support they need.
KIERAN GILBERT:
You’ve been sick the last few days. You’ve bravely turned up this morning, I appreciate that. Have you been tested for COVID-19? And what was the result?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yes I was tested last Thursday, got on Friday the negative result, had a bit of a sore throat, had a sniffle. I’d come back from overseas, Kieran, a couple weeks before at the G20 meeting in Riyadh so having come back from overseas, having shown some of the symptoms, as a precautionary measure I got tested. Fortunately it was negative and I got that result back and I had that test prior to learning about Peter Dutton’s situation. Obviously, our thoughts are with him because we want him, just like every other member of the Australian community who has the coronavirus, to make a full and speedy recovery.
KIERAN GILBERT:
So, you got the test Thursday but you announced the stimulus on Thursday, so you were pushing ahead. Did you think about self-isolating given you were feeling crook?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well I’d been in Riyadh just over two weeks before, and so it was very much a precautionary measure that I took. The medical advice to me was not to go and self-isolate and so I’m pleased that the test came out negative. But obviously, you know, every Australian is taking the necessary precautions.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Sure, indeed, and Chris Bowen and Labor says the rest of the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, should be tested because of exposure to Peter Dutton, that the World Health Organisation has a 48 hour time period before symptoms show, that if people are exposed to that they should get tested. That’s Chris Bowen’s argument. Why doesn’t the rest of Cabinet do what you did?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Because we will take our advice from the Chief Medical Officer, not from Mr. Bowen. I mean, it is very disappointing that they’ve sought to play politics at a time when the country needs to come together. This is a Team Australia moment. This is a time when Governments of both political persuasions at the Federal and the State level are meeting at the National Cabinet table. This is a time when the business community are showing flexibility to their workforce. This is a time of great stress, yet the Labor Party very disappointingly is trying to play politics here. Peter Dutton became symptomatic on that Friday morning when he had a fever and he had a sore throat. He rightly got tested, unfortunately it came back positive, and the Chief Medical Officer’s advice is it only applied to go and self-isolate for people who were within that 24 hour period before he became symptomatic. And as you know, our Cabinet meeting was on the Tuesday, a number of days prior.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Treasurer, we wish you all the best. Hope you get better soon and also wish the Government all the best in dealing with this situation because all of Australia are with you in this and hope that you are able to keep a lid on it, both in a health sense but an economic sense as well. I appreciate your time, Treasurer, thanks.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good to be with you.