LEIGH SALES:
Treasurer, thanks for your time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Nice to be with you, Leigh.
LEIGH SALES:
Isn't the problem with tourism, not the cost of airfares, it is that people are scared to book a holiday people because every State Government except New South Wales goes into lockdown and shuts their borders if they get one COVID case?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, obviously we want to see those domestic borders remain open. That's the message I heard from tourist operators in Cairns earlier this week and that's what we heard today from the airline operators, from both Qantas and Virgin. But I think the community's attitudes are changing, Leigh, as the virus is suppressed, as the vaccine is rolled out. In the last month alone, we have seen a 30 per cent jump for both Jetstar and Qantas bookings, that's more than a half a million new passenger bookings, which will obviously create jobs right across Australia.
LEIGH SALES:
Well, tourism groups, aviation unions and the opposition say that it's not going to make up the shortfall that they've been experiencing and the opposition in particular says it won't make up for the removal of the JobKeeper package at the end of the month. What's your response to that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It was never intended to be a replica of the JobKeeper payment. That was an emergency payment, it was initially planned for six months. We continued it for a full year. At $90 billion, it's the single largest economic program that any Australian Government has ever undertaken. Indeed, it was supporting 3.6 million Australians at its peak and a million Australian businesses. Now, 2.7 million Australian workers have actually graduated off JobKeeper. But the advice to me from Treasury has been that as the economy strengthens and people get back to work, that JobKeeper needs to come to an end because it has a number of perverse characteristics and features in that program that prevent workers more efficiently moving to other roles across the economy and it can prop up what are unsustainable long term businesses. So what we've designed here is a very targeted, temporary program, cheap loans, cheap airfares, 800,000 half price airfares going to thirteen destinations and the more planes that are in the air, the more tourists that are on the ground, and that means more jobs.
LEIGH SALES:
You were talking about some bigger economic issues there. Your economic recovery is heavily reliant on Australia's vaccine rollout. The Government led Australians to believe originally that everybody would have the COVID vaccine by the end of October, does the government accept Brendan Murphy's advice to a Senate Committee today that you're probably going to miss that target?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We've already seen more than 100,000 Australians get the dose of the vaccine, and we'll continue to roll it out in cooperation with the medical profession, in cooperation with the states, the good news is that we already have...
LEIGH SALES:
Sorry to interrupt, that end of October deadline is pretty key though because that's what the airlines are planning on for the resumption of international travel. So again, are you going to make that deadline?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We're obviously going to be working to that deadline and any update that we need to make to that timetable we will at the appropriate time, but we've already got 1.3 million doses of the vaccine, both the Pfizer vaccine and the AstraZeneca vaccine, here in Australia and as you know, unlike many other countries we actually have a domestic manufacturing capacity with CSL.
LEIGH SALES:
Earlier this week the former Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, was on 7.30, and she said the attitude in politics that the Party must always be protected discourages women from reporting sexual harassment, discrimination, and it also sends a message to powerful men, that they can get away with a lot because people stay silent about their misbehaviour. What do you say to that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, no one should stay silent and certainly no one should feel that they have to stay silent if there's been serious allegations that need to be made. That is why the Prime Minister has commissioned a broad ranging review into the culture and the conduct across the Parliament. We've tasked Kate Jenkins, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, to work on that review and that's reaching across the political aisle...
LEIGH SALES:
But I’m asking your opinion as a senior politician in Canberra whether or not the nature of the party system creates a toxic environment.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
My experience is different to that. But of course, if people do feel that they can't speak out about their experiences, then that's unacceptable. That, of course, needs to change. So therefore putting in place these processes and these reviews will hopefully lead to improvements.
LEIGH SALES:
Regarding the Attorney General, Christian Porter, what steps have you personally taken to get across the full detail of the allegations that have been made against him?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well I have spoken to him, just to check on his welfare because obviously you could see in the public glare of the media and, of course, the nation, at his press conference the anguish that he went through…
LEIGH SALES:
But that’s not exactly what I asked…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I haven't read the documentation…
LEIGH SALES:
Why is that just out of curiosity? I'm just curious as to why you know it's a close colleague, it's clearly, having major ramifications on the Government. Why haven't you read that material?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Because, Leigh, I'm not judge and jury. The reality is this is a serious allegation that we take seriously, and therefore that information was passed to the appropriate authorities...
LEIGH SALES:
But you’re just not curious as a human to know what was in it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well if you ask me about the seriousness of those allegations and do we take them seriously, the answer is yes, but it's not up to me to be the determiner of whether there is guilt or innocence here. That is for our police force to decide whether or not to lay charges, and they have said that the case is closed and then that is where the criminal justice system through the police have spoken. We've heard even recently from the former head of the Law Council of Australia, saying it's not appropriate to have an independent inquiry, when you have a criminal allegation that has been made and the criminal justice system has determined not to lay a charge.
LEIGH SALES:
You mentioned that you've been in touch with Mr. Porter to check on his wellbeing. How about your other colleague, Linda Reynolds. And how are they both?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yes, I have been speaking to her regularly. I’ve been speaking to both Linda and Christian regularly, and they're obviously in different circumstances. As you know Linda's got a heart condition that she's getting treatment for. That's why she's taking medical leave. With Christian, it's obviously some time to get his mental health situation in order because obviously events of recent weeks and days have really taken their toll.
LEIGH SALES:
Have you also spoken to former staffer, Brittany Higgins?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No, I haven't and I don't know her. Obviously I hope that she's getting all the support that she needs.
LEIGH SALES:
As the Deputy Liberal leader, let me ask you, how can Linda Reynolds remain a member of Cabinet when she didn't inform the Prime Minister of an alleged rape that occurred in her office.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Linda Reynolds has already said to the Parliament and publicly that what she has always sought to do is to provide the support that she thought that Brittany Higgins has needed. Obviously, you know, the Prime Minister has also expressed his displeasure that he was not informed of that matter. But as for her future in the Cabinet and Christian Porter’s future in the Cabinet, the Prime Minister has made very clear that both of those members of the Cabinet have his support and we look forward to them returning to work.
LEIGH SALES:
You look at Ministers in the Morrison Cabinet; Angus Taylor is still there after publicly releasing a fake document about the Sydney City Council, Linda Reynolds is there after apologising for mishandling a rape allegation in her office, Peter Dutton is still there with the Auditor General potentially taking a look at how he's awarded government grants. The Prime Minister hasn't even read the details of the serious allegations against the Attorney General, let alone stood him aside to make further inquiries. How good does it feel to be a Minister in the Morrison Government, knowing that no matter what questions arise over your conduct your job is safe?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I'm very proud to be the Treasurer in the Morrison Government, and to help Australia respond and recover from the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression. Our focus, our number one focus, is on our economic recovery and rolling out the vaccine across the nation. We're very proud of what 25 million Australians have achieved. Now, in terms of those different cases that you raise, of course they've been debated publicly, but the Prime Minister, and rightly, has seen fit to back his colleagues, and then they remain very important members of the team.
LEIGH SALES:
Josh Frydenberg, thank you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Nice to be with you, Leigh.