MONIQUE WRIGHT:
Well, the Federal Government is facing increasing pressure to reduce the rising cost of living. As Australians face higher fuel prices and supermarket costs, more households are struggling to balance their finances. Seven News understands that the Government could soon make a one‑off payment to help manage the rising cost of living. The person behind that Budget is, of course, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and he joins us now. Good morning to you, Treasurer.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning, Monique.
MONIQUE WRIGHT:
Let’s just start with how much are those cash bonuses going to be?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
You could ask me that type of question in many different ways and I’m not going to get on the sticky paper just over a week from the Budget about what might be in or not in that particular document. What I can say is that we will be taking steps to alleviate those cost of living pressures, building on what we’ve already announced to date. There’s been some $30 billion of tax relief, focusing on low and middle‑income earners, since the pandemic hit. We’ve also reduced the cost of childcare significantly; more than $2,000 for families with two or more children in childcare. And we’ve seen electricity prices come down by eight per cent in just the last two years alone, when they doubled under the Labor Party. So, we have been taking steps already to alleviate those cost of living pressures, but they are real. And as you alluded to, Monique, with the international situation in Ukraine, we’ve seen a spike in oil prices, which has flowed through to the bowser here at home.
MONIQUE WRIGHT:
Yes, okay. Are we getting a cash bonus or not, yes or no, even if you won’t tell us how much?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I can’t answer that question about what’s in or what’s not in the Budget, but what I can say is the Budget will be our economic plan for a stronger future. It will build on what we’ve already done to date, and it will also address cost of living pressures.
MONIQUE WRIGHT:
Okay. You just talked about cost of living pressures, and we’ve contacted the charity Foodbank, who is saying people are having to make this absolutely heartbreaking decision between buying food and buying fuel. They simply can’t afford to do both of them. They need help right now. What do you say to them?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, when it comes to fuel prices, Australia is a price taker. So, it is the international barrel of oil price which does drive the price here at home. We’ve already made significant economic support payments throughout this pandemic, which have been very important for low and middle‑income earners. We’ve increased the safety net. We doubled it during the pandemic, the coronavirus supplement, and then we lifted the JobSeeker rate permanently, with the biggest jump in that rate for more than two decades. And then we’ve taken other steps to address cost of living. But again, in the Budget, Monique, there will be further measures which will help reduce those pressures for families, because I recognise this is the main topic of discussion around kitchen tables.
MONIQUE WRIGHT:
It is, but you’ve also said that we have to switch from the big spending, right? You can’t continue to do that.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
That’s true.
MONIQUE WRIGHT:
So, how are you going to afford to help people who are making this decision between food or fuel, especially given the price of oil at the moment?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, what I will outline in the speech today is how we’re transitioning our Budget strategy. Obviously, during the pandemic, we had to open the purse strings and programs like JobKeeper, the cashflow boost, the coronavirus supplement, the $750 payments to millions of pensioners, carers, veterans and others on income support helped stabilise the economy and helped prevent the high levels of unemployment that we’ve seen around the world and, in fact, Treasury was initially forecasting at the start of the pandemic. Now that the recovery is very, very strong, yesterday we saw unemployment at 4 per cent, we’ve ended those emergency payments, but that being said, there’s also some temporary targeted responses that we can make, which can help alleviate the cost of living, and that’s what you’ll see in the Budget in just over a week’s time.
MONIQUE WRIGHT:
Okay. You just mentioned the unemployment rate there, down from 4.2 to 4 per cent. The Reserve Bank has said it will put more pressure to raise interest rates. Are you worried about that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the first thing to say is this is great news to see the unemployment rate down to its lowest level in 14 years, to see the female unemployment rate down to the lowest level since 1978, to see the youth unemployment rate at its lowest level in a decade. The Labor Party said the single biggest test of the Morrison’s Government management of the pandemic would be what happens to unemployment and jobs. And we have seen a dramatic fall in the unemployment rate, which I think is very, very good news. With respect to interest rates, Monique, that is a decision for the Reserve Bank, but they have been cautious in their public statements as to when and how they would potentially move on interest rates. They are at a historically low level today. The market is pricing in increases over time and that will be a decision for the independent Reserve Bank Board.
MONIQUE WRIGHT:
Alright you’ve got a busy week ahead of you don’t you Treasurer. Thank you so much for your time. We always appreciate it.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good to be with you