LAURA TINGLE:
Treasurer, thanks for joining us. These really are terrific job numbers today. Where do you think the growth in jobs is coming from?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, essentially the jobs have come back that have been lost through this crisis, 1.3 million Australians either lost their jobs or saw their hours reduced to zero at the height of the pandemic. In net terms, those jobs have come back. And whichever way you cut it, Laura, these are a very positive set of numbers. Employment is up. Workforce participation is up. The number of hours worked is up. And we're now seeing more Australians in a job than ever before. We've seen 2,000 plus jobs created every day over the month of March. Around 80 per cent of the new jobs have gone to women. And around half the jobs have gone to young people. And the improvement in the labour market is more than four times better than we saw after the 1990s recession. So it is a very positive set of numbers.
LAURA TINGLE:
Sure. But you said today there are many sectors, regions and even families that continue to do it tough and that Government’s economic support will continue to flow. Does that suggest there may be need for more support measures in next month's Budget?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we have transitioned off those emergency support initiatives like JobKeeper, which were always temporary, and we have moved to more targeted support for those sectors that need it most, like tourism and aviation. We announced a $1.2 billion package with half-price airfares, as well as cheap loans. We've also announced an arts and entertainment package with $125 million in grants for live events which support the roadie as well as the artist themselves. So there are a number of specific programs that we have announced already that are part of the next phase of the economic recovery because we're still in the middle of a pandemic. We're not out of this crisis yet, but Australia has outperformed all major advanced economies in the world over the course of the last 12 months.
LAURA TINGLE:
Sure. To what extent, I've got a question from Erica Gregan, who is the managing director of one of the businesses we saw in the package we've just shown. She says CBD retailers are now facing not just the end of JobKeeper, but the return of full-market pre-COVID rents and demands to repay rent subsidies from that period from landlords. She wants to know, but they're only getting a fraction of the trade through their doors. She wants to know if the Government's going to stand by and watch all of those CBD businesses close down, or are you going to do something to help them?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, CBDs are doing it tough. And we've seen commercial occupancies in Sydney at around 50 per cent. In Melbourne, as low as 35 per cent. And during the pandemic, and the height of the pandemic, the states actually put in rent relief for commercial tenancies, because that is their primary responsibility…
LAURA TINGLE:
And that's now ended….
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And that was agreed through National Cabinet, no doubt the states are monitoring the situation closely. But with the easing of restrictions, for example, around public transport, which I note New South Wales is undertaking, I think we're going to see more people come back to the CBDs…
LAURA TINGLE:
So is that basically a business…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
…and those businesses will start getting back....
LAURA TINGLE:
So it's essentially a problem for the states to look after the CBDs?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, commercial tenancies, like residential tenancies have been their primary responsibility. And National Cabinet reached an agreement, and the states implemented their part of that agreement. We have provided more general economic support across the economy, which will help those businesses in the CBDs, but the key to getting those businesses back on their feet is obviously the successful suppression of the virus, the easing of the restrictions, and we announced also some other particular measures which will help those businesses, including low-cost loans and other measures.
LAURA TINGLE:
When Christine Holgate announced the deal to secure banking services for 55 per cent of Australia's regional communities in 2018, she singled you out for thanks for your support in securing the deal. You must have realised how important that was?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely. And I strongly supported what Australia Post was seeking to do, which was to reach a commercial agreement with the banks to provide banking services through its licensee post offices. Now that's been a successful program, and Christine and her other colleagues deserve credit for that. But that's quite distinct from the other revelations that we've seen, and we've seen an independent review conducted by Maddocks Law Firm...
LAURA TINGLE:
Which has found no fault in what she did…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
…a number of recommendations which were made…
LAURA TINGLE:
…that’s found no fault in what she did.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Look, it raised issues in relation to the Public Governance and Accountability Act, and also made some broader recommendations which are relevant to all government business enterprises across the board. But Christine Holgate's a very decent person and obviously I did work with her constructively during that period.
LAURA TINGLE:
So did she deserve the sorts of treatment that she received at the hands of the Prime Minister and others when the Cartier watches issue exploded?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the Prime Minister's given a full comment on that in recent days where he made it clear that it was not his intent to create any distress and he regretted if that was the case. But…
LAURA TINGLE:
Isn't there a bigger issue here, though, Treasurer? The bottom line is, Australia Post was corporatised in 1989. That means you've delegated responsibility for looking after taxpayers' money to a board and management. What role has the Prime Minister got in directing that the chief executive should be stood down?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, you raise the issue of the Board, Laura, and Christine Holgate did tender her resignation and the Board accepted that, and then they went through the process of appointing a new CEO...
LAURA TINGLE:
Ten days after she'd been told she was being stood down because of the Prime Minister's instruction.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, she was stood down over the course of the period when the review was taking place and, like I said, the review was conducted and made a number of recommendations which were relevant not just to Australia Post, but more broadly to government business enterprises. They're important recommendations, and it reminds everybody, particularly boards and senior executives, about their responsibilities with public money in terms of upholding the PGPA Act.
LAURA TINGLE:
Thanks for your time tonight, Treasurer.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
My pleasure.