LISA MILLAR:
Treasurer, good morning.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning, Lisa. Nice to be with you.
LISA MILLAR:
How much longer can these lockdowns go on for before we start talking about a second recession? I know the Prime Minister ruled it out yesterday. But you don't know when Sydney is going to get out of this grim situation?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we don't know what we don't know - is the obvious response to that. And this pandemic has always been full of surprises and difficulties. And right now with more than 13 million of our fellow Australians in lockdown, these are very trying times. Businesses are closed, kids are being home schooled, and, of course, families are apart. And it's going to have a hit on the economy. We'll see that in the future jobs data as well as in the GDP growth numbers. But our expectation is that these lockdowns are costing around $300 million a day, which is a very high price. And, of course, we're not out of it just yet.
LISA MILLAR:
Big business groups this morning are pushing to have more flexibility with how they can deal with workers, moving them around, asking them to take leave, cutting numbers. Are you having conversations with them about that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, when I met with the business groups recently to discuss the vaccination rollout and how we can partner with them, they did raise a whole series of issues in relation to workplace relations. I mean, our objective is the same as their objective. Indeed, I would hope the same as the Opposition's objective. Namely, to help businesses survive these lockdowns, to keep as many people in work and connected to their employer, and obviously to see the economy bounce back on the other side of the lockdowns, as we've seen in the past. Let's not forget that there are now 160,000 more people in work than before the pandemic began. No other advanced economy has seen such a strong economic rebound from the pandemic. But these lockdowns are providing new challenges, and that's why our economic support, Lisa, whether it's the income support - which are the payments of between $375 or $600 a week - or the business support payments, which are between $1,500 and $10,000 a week, are making their way to businesses and to households.
LISA MILLAR:
Yeah, no-one wants these lockdowns. The New South Wales Premier yesterday put the blame on the slow rollout of the vaccines. And also it was reported, Treasurer - and this is a figure that alarmed me this morning - that yesterday at the Sydney Olympic hub there were 8,000 Pfizer vaccinations given and 50 AstraZeneca vaccinations, because there's that kind of hesitancy even though the Government is saying, "Look, that's where it is. You've got all the AstraZeneca, so we can't deliver the Pfizer yet." The vaccine rollout has been a huge problem for you, hasn't it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It's been very challenging. There are some things we can control, other things we can't. And as you know, we had established the domestic sovereign manufacturing capability with CSL for the AstraZeneca vaccine, but then we were confronted with the ATAGI advice, which impacted on the cohorts, the age cohorts, to which it could be available.
LISA MILLAR:
So is that…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
But now people can go and see their doctor...
LISA MILLAR:
Yeah, yeah...
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
...and get that particular advice.
LISA MILLAR:
And they are aware of that. Because, you know, but what's new is that we're seeing what appears to be pressure from the Prime Minister yesterday on ATAGI.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, ATAGI have always said that they would look at the situation on the ground. And if there's rapid and widespread community transmission, then that may impact upon their advice as to who should be, and the timetables for which people should be accessing, for example, the AstraZeneca vaccine. We have seen more than 30,000 people go to their doctors and then receive the advice that the AstraZeneca vaccine is available to them, and they've got the jab. But we also have seen over the last week, Lisa, one million jabs being delivered. That compares to 45 days for the first million to be delivered. And as you know, we are getting more supplies of the Pfizer vaccine each and every day, with at least a million a week coming in the period ahead.
LISA MILLAR:
And it’s great to see that many.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
So, that is a good sign.
LISA MILLAR:
Oh, absolutely. But you've got three academics today saying that, basically, it's one of the worst public policy rollouts, it's a failure to procure sufficient vaccine, it's an over-reliance on AstraZeneca, and it's a lack of vaccine awareness initiatives - and that all comes down to the Federal Government. Why is it so hard to say "sorry"?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the Prime Minister yesterday accepted responsibility for the vaccine rollout and has put a great deal of focus on the new solutions that we're putting in place to get more supplies. And as you know, he has spoken to the head of Pfizer and we've got agreement to bring forward some of those orders. But if you look at the case of New Zealand, which us not too dissimilar to Australia...
LISA MILLAR:
But why is it so hard to say sorry? You've got so many frustrated Australians out there, Treasurer.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Lisa, yeah, and I share their frustrations.
LISA MILLAR:
Are you sorry?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And I know how difficult it is. I accept, more importantly, I accept, the Prime Minister accepts, the Government accepts the responsibility for our health and economic response. But I want to point out to you as well, just as the vaccine rollout has had its challenges, we have also saved some 30,000 lives from being lost. If you'd seen the loss of life that we've seen across the OECD, on average, more than 30,000 lives would have been lost right now. Thankfully, it's under a thousand. So too on the economic response. No other advanced economy has seen more people in work today than before the pandemic began. So, yes, we have challenges, and particularly today with so many states in lockdown. But we will get through it. The Australian economy has bounced back before. The Australian people are remarkably resilient. We're rolling out the income and the business support and we're getting more supply of vaccines. But I point you to also to New Zealand, which is another case of a country which has very effectively responded to the virus in preventing the loss of life and getting their labour market back on track. They've got a vaccine rollout which has even been behind ours, so there are some challenges for not just Australia but also our near neighbour in New Zealand.
LISA MILLAR:
We're going have to leave it there, Treasurer. Thank you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
My pleasure, Lisa.