LAWRENCE MOONEY:
I'll tell you what is thousands of pages of detail, but he is going to make it simple for us this morning. We welcome Josh Frydenberg, the federal Treasurer, to Moonman in the morning. Good morning to you, Josh.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning, guys. Nice to be with you and your listeners.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Who are the big winners from the Federal Budget this year?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Families, taxpayers, businesses, women, retirees. There's a long list of people and sectors and regions across the country that will be better off as a result of this Budget. Australia is still in the middle of the pandemic, and even though we are recovering strongly on both the health and on the economic front, we've got to lock in those gains. And so that's what we've done in this Budget. Other countries are not enjoying the good fortune that we are, and so we can't take that for granted. That's why this Budget is doubling down on job creation.
JESS EVA:
Josh, we've got to say a big thanks for chucking some cash into the microbreweries. We personally, feel, that's appreciated.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Have they cut a few bucks off a pint for you? That's the question.
JESS EVA:
Not yet. The money hasn't been passed down yet.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
We want the beer rebate breweries.
JESS EVA:
Give us the four, but…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It's a pretty good thing, actually.
JESS EVA:
What about the tourism industry? Is it time for people to make a career change if they find themselves in in that sector at the moment?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Quite the opposite, in fact. What we're seeing is more Australians traveling interstate, enjoying the wonderful sites and places that our country offers. We've tried to provide the support to the tourism and aviation sector with 800,000 half price airfares. They've been going off like hotcakes.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Absolutely.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Don't know if you've booked your flight into Cairns or into Tasmania or anywhere else across the country.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
I did some central Australia tourism. I got in the camper van with the family, and it's great to be able to just go and explore your country, to actually not have an option to go overseas. To go, I'm going to spend my money here.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
In fact, more people are spending more money in Australia as a result. It means that they can't hop on the plane and go to Bali or to go to Europe or anywhere else where they may have gone. So, we've put in place in this Budget support for tourism, also for the arts and entertainment sector, underwriting major live events, which will support the people who have put together those events, whether they're the back office or…
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
We saw that. $300 million for the entertainment sector, which is a big boost for them because audiences, of course, had to disappear when we all went into lockdown. Josh, I've got a very good friend of yours, the former member from Wentworth and former Prime Minister of Australia…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
He's up early!
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Good on you, Josh. Of course, I'm up early. I was out kayaking. Lucy made me Eggs Benedict this morning. Congratulations on your third Federal Budget. Just I'd just like to speak to you about a timely death, if you like, of Andrew Peacock, who, of course, was the former member for Kooyong, your federal seat. The Colt from Kooyong. Now, Josh, they called him the Colt from Kooyong because of course, Menzies held the seat of Kooyong and he was the Stallion. If he's the stallion and Andrew Peacock’s, the colt. What kind of equine beast of Kooyong you?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Oh, Malcolm, that would make me the draught horse from Kooyong.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Some unkind members of the media have called you the teaser pony or the Shetland pony.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
That's right. Well, certainly we're riding this economy as hard as we can if we got to keep that analogy going.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
You've got the whip hand.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And we're not far from the finish line, although we never know where that is in the middle of a pandemic.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Well, I did see you showering once in the parliamentary gymnasium and I can tell you what you sure are the donkey of Kooyong.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
That's below the waistline.
LAWRENCE MOONEY:
Absolutely. You're always terrific fun, Josh Frydenberg. And good on you. And good luck today. And well done on the Budget.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Thanks, guys. All the best to you.