LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg joins us this morning to tell us more, good morning Josh. Hello Josh.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Hello.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Okay.
JESS EVA:
Are you okay? Have you got the spending sweats because I know after I go on a big spending spree, I get a little bit nervous, are you alright?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yeah well exactly, I’ve just been sent the bill and I’ve had a big gulp.
JESS EVA:
You’re like dad when he got the phone bill when you were a teenager.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
When your credit card bill turns up and you start getting the sweats, exactly.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Josh, when you won the Federal Election last year in May 2019 did you ever expect that you’d be the Treasurer that would put together the single biggest package in Australia’s history?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Not in a million years. I expected that I’d do my best to deliver the first surplus in twelve years. Instead I’ve announced a $130 billion wage subsidy with the Prime Minister which hopefully will underpin the economy and provide an economic lifeline to millions of Australians at this incredibly difficult time.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Now essentially the LNP have become the biggest socialist government in Australia’s history. How does it feel to be a red-ragger? Welcome to the Labour Party!
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well look the ideological constraints go out of the door right now I tell you.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Absolutely.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
This is not about politics this is actually about getting the Australian public through a global pandemic, the likes of which we have never seen before. I mean just turn on the TV and see what’s happening in Italy or in Spain or in the United States. Even the queues outside Centrelink were just heartbreaking. I think this wage subsidy will make a real difference for people.
JESS EVA:
Absolutely. I’ve got a lot of mates yesterday that could’ve kissed you on the lips when this was announced…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Keep that away from my wife please.
JESS EVA:
And social distancing. Can you tell us the benefits from this new package and how it’s all going to work?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well employers that are eligible, namely those who have seen their turnover fall by more than 30 per cent as a result of the coronavirus will register with the Australian Tax Office and as of last night we had more than 60,000 businesses do so and no doubt tens of thousands will do so as well in the coming days. They will then receive this $1500 flat payment per fortnight per worker that was on their books as of the first of March. And this will help keep that connection between the employer and the employee because we know there’s going to be the other side to the coronavirus. We’ll get there. It’s going to be pretty tough in the weeks ahead, but we’ll get there. And when we get there, we want to economy to bounce back stronger than ever.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
And when you talk about political ideology going out the window we couldn’t agree more. There’s the National Cabinet now made up of both sides of politics and basically, we’re in a space that kind of feels good because we’re all working for the national interest. Let me ask you this Josh, how much are you sleeping a night? Because you guys look absolutely exhausted.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yeah, I’m stuffed. I only slept for four hours last night. In fact I have trouble sleeping just because so many things are playing on my mind. And I don’t know about you Moonman but I leave my phone on next to my bed on silent. And when you can’t sleep and you’re tossing around you go and look on the internet and I think that’s very dangerous because that’s much harder to get back to sleep. These have been tough days but it’s not about me. It’s about the people who are really hurting out there. And I've had people crying on the phone to me, crying in my office. Partners have lost their jobs, wondering how they’ll be able to meet their mortgage payments and the like and that’s why the Government has dug deep at this time. We really do have the public’s back and that’s why $130 billion as big as that sounds, and as big as that is, is so necessary.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
We spoke to Mark Bouris our finance expert earlier today. It’s 10 per cent of GDP. Is there another shot in the chamber, or is this it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well none of these policies are set and forget and we will continue to do what is necessary. I think more will need to be done and we will have more to say about that in the period ahead, but it will be hard to top this one - $130 billion, that’s a gigantic amount of money.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
It is.
JESS EVA:
With the JobSeeker subsidy, if you’ve lost your job but your partner is still working can you still get that? Or does it apply on household income?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well we actually changed the household income threshold just yesterday. And what it was previously was $48,000. If your partner was earning $48,000 or more, you weren’t entitled to that JobSeeker coronavirus supplement. But now we’ve lifted that to nearly $80,000…
JESS EVA:
Good!
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
So a big jump. And that will help so many of your listeners.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Josh Frydenberg our Federal Treasurer, thank you very much for your time. We know that you’ve got a lot on and you’re speaking to a lot of people this morning so thank you very much for giving your time to Moonman in the morning.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Thanks Moonman. I enjoy your impersonations even though I think some of the people at the other end of it don’t.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Well of course I was of course the former Prime Minister too, but your necked him and I was almost out of a job Josh.
JESS EVA:
We forgive you because you gave us heaps of cash in the last 24 hours.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
That’s right. Keep going with Scomo Five-0. See you!
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
See you, take care.