LISA MILLAR:
Good morning and thank you for being on the program.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning. Nice to be with you.
LISA MILLAR:
Can I start with those comments reportedly made by Linda Reynolds this morning, do you think that's appropriate language?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Firstly, she hasn't said that she has said those comments...
LISA MILLAR:
She hasn't denied them?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, she put out a statement which made it very clear that at no stage has she challenged Brittany Higgins' version of events. Those comments that you are referring to have been reported but that's not what is contained in Linda Reynolds statements. No doubt you and other media commentators will ask her those questions when she returns from leave...
LISA MILLAR:
Will you be hoping she'd be clarifying the comments as soon as possible, surely given the context in which they have reportedly been said?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, if you look at her statement, it makes it very clear that at no stage has she challenged Brittany Higgins' version of events and as Linda has told the Parliament previously and at every stage, she has thought that she has been acting in the best interests of Brittany Higgins, providing the support that is needed.
LISA MILLAR:
You would be disturbed though, surely, if the words "lying cow" were used to refer to Brittany Higgins?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again I'm not going to speculate on speculation. That is what is being reported but that is not what Linda Reynolds has said.
LISA MILLAR:
Last time you were on the program Michael asked you, in fact, whether you believed Brittany Higgins, you said you did. Do you still believe Brittany Higgins?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I mean, in terms of what has happened to Brittany Higgins, I absolutely do believe her but the point being those matters are in the hands of the police where they need to be but, again, every victim of sexual assault needs to have their voice heard and needs to feel comfortable in actually putting their case. But it's not for me to really say whether I believe one person or another, these issues are very serious criminal matters and it's up to the police to be the ones to ascertain the veracity of the facts in question.
LISA MILLAR:
So do you believe Christian Porter?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
The same applies there. My answer is the same, which is that it's up to the police to ascertain the veracity of the facts in that particular case. The police are the only body, Lisa, who are authorised to deal with such serious criminal matters and, in the case of the New South Wales police, they have spoken, they said the matter is closed. Yesterday you saw an emphatic denial from Christian Porter at his press conference and in his statement in the glare of the nation's media and the glare of the Australian public. He's entitled to the presumption of innocence as any citizen in this country is entitled to and he has the Prime Minister's support and he has my support.
LISA MILLAR:
Why not embrace an independent inquiry and then clear this up, because you say the case is closed, there's certainly a lot of people who disagree with you about whether this is actually a police matter or not. So I hear what you are saying but there's a lot of people who disagree with this. Why not support an independent investigation and clear it up then?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
You've got a very serious allegation of criminal conduct. So that automatically becomes a matter for the police. And the police have looked into it…
LISA MILLAR:
They didn't speak to Christian Porter, though?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
But they made a statement based on the evidence that was available to them and they said that the matter is closed. I want to point out, Lisa, that there have been allegations against Members in this place before, serious allegations, and at that time, there was a bipartisan approach where matters were referred to the police, the police said that the matters were closed and then that was the end of it, there was not...
LISA MILLAR:
If you are talking about the Bill Shorten case and Christian Porter did raise that yesterday so we don't need to be coy about the name. That was a lengthy investigation. He was actually spoken to and questioned by police, you can't compare the two?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, that is a matter for the police as to how they conduct their investigations. But the principle is the same – which is that it's the police who have the final say about the particular matter in question. At that time, there were no calls across the political divide for an independent inquiry, there were no calls for the person in question to stand down from their role. There was bipartisan support for the method and the process that was adopted and the same principle should be applied here.
LISA MILLAR:
Treasurer, at the end of the day, all of this is taking oxygen away from what would otherwise have been good news for you today which is the GDP. While the Government might think this is closed and over, this very conversation today and the front pages of the newspapers shows that it's not?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I won't deny the fact that yesterday's economic data was overshadowed by those events. From my perspective and the Prime Minister's perspective, we have a responsibility to the Australian people to get out and roll out the vaccine and to ensure that Australia's economic recovery maintains its momentum. Yesterday, we saw the GDP numbers for the December quarter with economic growth of 3.1 per cent. This is the first time in Australia's history since records began back in 1959 that we have had two consecutive quarters of economic growth above 3 per cent. What was particularly pleasing in yesterday's numbers, Lisa, is that it's the private sector that is helping to lead this recovery.
LISA MILLAR:
But Qantas is saying it could well sack more people, so it's two-speed recovery. You have got real problems ahead and when are we going to learn about what might replace or help these particular specific industries like tourism once JobKeeper has gone? When are you going to let us know?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We are working through particular initiatives in that respect and with respect to the aviation sector that you just referred to. We recognise that some sectors and regions are doing it tough. But as I was saying, what is particularly pleasing about the numbers yesterday is that it is a broad-based recovery and that we have seen right across the country people coming off JobKeeper, around 2.7 million Australians have come off JobKeeper. Even as the economic support from the Federal Government halved in the December quarter compared to the period prior, we still saw 320,000 jobs being created and 3.1 per cent GDP growth. It's the private sector whether it's dwelling investment, business investment or household consumption that is driving this economic recovery. Australia has out-performed every other major advanced economy in the world. That is a source of great pride for 25 million Australians because it's been the work of 25 million Australians that has contributed to this result.
LISA MILLAR:
Treasurer we'll leave it there, thanks for your time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
My pleasure.