LEON BYNER:
Labor is saying that it’s prepared to have an election battle on cost of living. Do you concede many people are struggling with higher prices?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, there’s certainly some challenges out there for families. Petrol prices have increased and that’s a function of global supply and demand pressures. With respect to our focus as a government, it’s been on driving down the cost of electricity and that has come down by 10 per cent since December 2018 whereas energy prices doubled under Labor. We’ve also focused on providing more support for childcare to help ease that cost of living expense for families. As you know, tax relief has been a big focus for us, both for small businesses but also for households. And a listener to your program, say a nurse or a teacher, who’s on $60,000 a year is $6,480 better off as a result of the tax cuts that we have been providing as well as the stronger structural reform that we’ve been undertaking to our tax system. So in a number of areas, we have focused on lowering the cost of living for Australians, but I do recognise there are challenges out there.
LEON BYNER:
Yeah, because last week the Prime Minister said that petrol prices and interest rates would be lower under the Coalition compared to Labor. How would you actually achieve this given that petrol prices are based on global oil movements and interest rates are set by the Reserve Bank?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, with respect to the cost of living, again, the proof is in the pudding. Under Labor, the cost of living judged by the CPI index was up by 2.7 per cent on average during their term in office. Under us it’s been up by 1.8 per cent. And with respect to interest rates, as you know, they’re at historic lows today and that has been of real benefit. So somebody with an average $500,000 mortgage, 30‑year tenure, they’re going to be $600 a month better off today as they were under Labor when interest rates were obviously higher. So there are a number of factors at play, both domestic and international. But our track record has been about delivering lower taxes, creating more jobs, and working hard to keep the cost of living under control.
LEON BYNER:
We see that despite these efforts of yours many businesses are shutting up shop or reducing hours because they can’t find staff. What’s your take on that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, workforce shortages are real and it’s across the economy; the hospitality sector, agriculture, mining, construction, IT and professional services. Last week, Leon, I met with some of Australia’s leading CEO’s and company chairperson’s, and they made it very clear to me that the most pressing issue for them was getting access to skilled workers and seeing the borders open. So later today we’ll be making announcements about the ability for those skilled workers, those international students, to come back to Australia. And I think that will be very welcome and it will be good news for the economy. International students contributed $40 billion to our economy.
LEON BYNER:
Well, there are a lot of people in business who are begging to allow migrants back in to cover the job vacancies they can’t fill.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, there are job vacancies out there and job ads today are more than 30 per cent higher than they were going into the pandemic. The unemployment rate has also come down since we’ve come to government. When we came to government it was 5.7 per cent, today it’s 5.2 per cent. And the Reserve Bank is forecasting for unemployment to go into the low 4s. So, there is some good news across the economy, but you’re absolutely right, skilled workers, opening up the borders, will be good news for the economy and it will help fill some of those workforce shortages.
LEON BYNER:
One Nation is planning to introduce a bill urging states to drop their vaccine mandates, and some government senators are preparing to back the bill. Do you think Premiers have become a little drunk on power when it comes to these COVID rules?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well those rules are state enforced, and we’ve always said that the vaccination program should be voluntary. And it’s been a very successful voluntary program, Leon. As you know, we’ve now hit the 85 per cent threshold for double‑dose vaccinations right around the country, which is an incredible achievement. And by getting the vaccination rate up we’ve been able to ease those restrictions, and that’s going to see more people in work and greater economic activity. So, we welcome the fact that the economy is opening up. We re‑emphasise the fact that the vaccination program has always been voluntary, not mandatory. And as for those particular state‑based decisions, they’re up to state premiers to answer for.
LEON BYNER:
Now, look, I want to go back to the business of fuel prices because they are a real grudge point with people, and that is that they’re now heading towards $2 a litre. Is there anything the federal government can do about this, because this really is about supply and demand globally, isn’t it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we do have an ACCC that is the cop on the beat, that’s the Competition and Consumer Commission. They continue to monitor that market very closely. But if you look at petrol prices last year, they came down quite significantly, Leon, because the world was, the world’s economy had been subject to these lockdowns, and so the demand for fuel had gone down. Now that the demand is going up, the market is responding and that’s what we’re seeing with global pressures and the increase in prices. I’m confident that it will find its equilibrium, but it’s certainly higher than it was last year.
LEON BYNER:
Josh, thank you for joining us.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
My pleasure, Leon.
LEON BYNER:
And we’ll talk to you before Christmas, but joy to you and your family.