MICHAEL ROWLAND:
Let’s go straight to the federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in Brisbane. Treasurer, good morning. Its going to be pretty disastrous, isn’t it, for a lot of pensioners and concession holders wanting to get those free tests today?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, good morning, Michael. Good morning, Lisa, and happy new year to you and your viewers. Well, the good news is that if anybody is sick in any state or territory, they turn up at a government clinic and they can get a rapid antigen test or a PCR test and get the results shortly after. And that will be at no cost to them. We’re paying – the commonwealth and the state – a 50-50 funding arrangement to ensure that those tests can be undertaken. Now with respect to concessional card holders, we have again entered into an agreement with the states and territories through national cabinet to provide more than 6 million Australians – pensioners and others on income support – with up to 10 tests over the quarter. Now, 1,000 pharmacies, Michael, will be participating in the program initially. That will be broadening out to some 4,000 pharmacies. Greg Hunt, the Health Minister spoke just yesterday to the head of the Pharmacy Guild, and we’re working together to ensure that those RAT tests can be provided.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
But that won’t help people today, those pensioners and concession card holders wanting tests. The New South Wales branch head of the Pharmacy Guild reckons 90 per cent of chemists simply will not have the stock. These things will be as rare as Carlton premierships, won’t they?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I think that, you know, as I said, the people who need them right now who are either symptomatic or a designated close contact can go to a state clinic. With respect to those who want to purchase them through the pharmacy, some pharmacies will be making them available as part of this initial program which then gets expanded. But as you know, there is great demand for these rapid antigen tests right around the country. And here in Australia we’ve got more than 200 million on offer. The Federal Government’s provided more than 6 million rapid antigen tests through the aged-care sector. We're providing more than 10 million to the states to be used in their clinics. And in Victoria just over 7 million have arrived in the last two weeks alone. So, there is more supply coming online.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
But that demand could have been eased if the federal government bought more of these tests or put orders in in the middle of last year.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, as you know, we have been in the market. We have been ordering tests, but PCR –
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
But clearly not enough, Treasurer. Not enough.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, and every country would like more, but the good news is more are coming online with millions arriving into the states and through the federal government. But let’s also emphasise to your viewers that the health experts who brief national cabinet say that the rapid antigen test is not a universal screening product that should be used every day in every workplace. We should focus on the most vulnerable cohorts and we should ensure that there is access for those people who need it most. And, of course, they are the symptomatic people as well as those who are the designated close contacts.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
But as you know, these tests provide peace of mind, especially for parents of kids, both young and old. Pensioners certainly. It is going to be this mad scramble for, at this stage, relatively few of these tests. Not a great situation for this country to be in.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, every country is going through supply chain pressures with respect to rapid antigen tests –
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
But we talk about the – your government talks about the Australian way. Shouldn’t the Australian way involve – or should have involved more orders? Let’s forget about other countries. Let’s talk about the Australian way. More orders by the federal government last year for these tests so we would not be facing this scramble for the tests at the moment.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Michael, let me give you some facts: firstly, the federal government has helped fund more than 53 million tests, and we’ve done that either by providing 100 per cent of the funding through Medicare or on a 50-50 basis with the states. That’s come at a cost of more than two and a half billion dollars to the commonwealth. We’ve got more than 200 million tests that are on order. We welcome the announcement from the two largest states – Victoria and New South Wales – about rolling out the rapid antigen tests to teachers and students so that the schools can open. And Australia has one of the highest vaccination rates of any country in the world – top 10 in the OECD, more than 92 per cent double-dose vaccination rates. More six and a half million booster shots have been provided, more than 600,000 jabs have been provided to young kids aged 5 to 11. Yes, we’ve got supply chain pressures. Yes, we’ve got pressures on our health system. But Australia has one of the highest vaccination rates, the lowest mortality rates and one of the strongest economic recoveries anywhere in the world. They are the facts.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
Okay, now you’re undoubtedly hard at work on the budget which is scheduled for the end of March. You’re talking this morning about the benefits tax cuts provide, especially for young Australians. Is the government, Treasurer, considering further tax cuts in the budget as part of its election pitch?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well just look at our track record – at every opportunity we’ve looked to cut taxes. And that’s what we’ve done since coming to government. We’ve got small business tax rates that are at the lowest level in more than 50 years. We’ve got record business investment tax incentives which have helped increase investment despite the recession. And for income earners we’ve rolled out very significant structural reform, including legislating the abolition of a whole tax bracket. If you’re earning $60,000 today as a teacher or a nurse, you are paying $2,160 less tax this year than under Labor. And what the figures we reveal today from the Tax Office show is that younger people have been the ones who have been receiving the bulk of that support as a proportion of their income being paid on tax. If you’re 15 to 24, you have paid 19 per cent less tax as a proportion of your income as a result of the tax cuts that we have implemented.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
Okay, just before we go – I notice you were at the tennis yesterday having a hit. I know you’re a frustrated pro tennis player, but we’ll leave that to one side at the moment. The head of Tennis Australia told our colleague Catherine Murphy yesterday that he fully expected Novak Djokovic to be back next year. Now, he has been cancelled out of Australia for three years, hasn’t he, as part of the deal by the – or the agreement by the Immigration Minister?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It is, but every year a new application can be made. And I’m not going to pre-empt what happens in a year’s time in terms of the decision of the Immigration Minister at that point in time and whatever the situation is with respect to the pandemic. What we do know is that the Australian government took strong action. The Health Minister back in November last year wrote to Tennis Australia, laid out what the conditions were for someone who is unvaccinated coming to the country – they needed to go through the two-week quarantine process or have an appropriate exemption. Novak Djokovic didn’t, and no-one is bigger than the Australian Open, and certainly no-one is bigger than our border protection laws. The Full Court of the Federal Court upheld unanimously the decision of the Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, and now we’re watching a great festival of tennis, of course minus Novak Djokovic, but I think we’re all hoping, Michael, that Ash Barty can hold that trophy aloft at the end of the second week. So no pressure whatsoever.
MICHAEL ROWLAND:
Yeah, we are indeed. Treasurer, thanks for joining us this morning.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
My pleasure.