NEIL MITCHELL:
On the line, Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, good morning.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning, Neil and nice to be with your listeners.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Just first, I’m told the decision has been made on the purpose-built quarantine facility and it will be announced tomorrow. Is that right?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
We have been working through the details of that proposal and we’ve said publicly that we’re favourably disposed and a decision is imminent. And as you know, Neil, this designated facility that Victoria has proposed for quarantine is over and above the existing hotel quarantine facility.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay. So will a decision be announced tomorrow?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It’s imminent, and that’s all I can say.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Would it be fair to say Avalon is odds on now?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Avalon does have some very positive characteristics to it, obviously being near an airport, and that’s relevant in this case.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well, that’s a tip. There’s a good tip. I’d put money on a horse with a tip like that.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, you’ll have to wait to Melbourne Cup for that one.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay. The other thing, what happened to Team Australia? It’s gone.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, there was a bit of – to quote a Julia Gillard-ism – a bit of hyperbole coming from the Victorian Government the other day. I mean, those comments were, you know, over the top, as you would appreciate. We didn’t take the bait. I have a constructive relationship with my counterpart, Tim Pallas. I spoke to him last night.
NEIL MITCHELL:
What? Are you mates again? Are you mates again now, are you?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I’m happy to have a constructive discussion with him, and I don’t take too seriously those over-the-top comments that he made the other day.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay. Now there will be relief, extra relief, for Victoria, will there not?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we are considering those options. Again, I don’t want to pre-empt decisions, but we do recognise the need in Victoria. We took a decision that we stand by that for the first week of the lockdown the state had the capacity to respond. And, as you know, Victoria wasn’t the only state that went into a lockdown post-JobKeeper. We saw that in Greater Brisbane and we saw that in Greater Perth and Peel regions in Western Australia. They didn’t request extra support. Extra support was not forthcoming from the Federal Government. We’ve already shown very significant support and delivered very significant support to Victorians around three times what has been delivered at the State Government level. But we are looking at our options. And we will stick to the principles, Neil, that have guided us to date - namely, support being temporary, targeted, measured and using existing systems.
NEIL MITCHELL:
How much?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, I don’t want to pre-empt the details of announcements and decisions.
NEIL MITCHELL:
People are out there, you know, waiting.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, they won’t have to wait long. They went have to wait long.
NEIL MITCHELL:
When will you tell them?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we’re looking at those decisions today, and obviously the announcement of the lockdown is, again, the details have to be very clear as to where it’s applying to. We’ve heard obviously that regional Victoria has seen restrictions released. I have to say, Victorians are asking a lot of legitimate questions of their state government – namely, why does a regional city like Mildura that hasn’t had a case for 13 months, that is more than 500 kilometres away from Melbourne, why is a city like that facing the same restrictions as in a metropolitan Melbourne and the like.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Do I hear the bells ringing? Have you got to go into parliament?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I’m just going to find that out, but I think it’s the start of play.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Oh geez. Well, I won’t keep…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Politicians are putting on their pads and getting to walk out, but we’re okay, Neil, so let’s keep going.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Yeah, watch out for the odd bouncer. Okay. Will you, if you’re going to give support to Victoria, which you clearly are, will you ask to see the advice on which – the medical advice on which they based this lockdown? In other words, was it necessary or was it political?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, our officials, our health officials, are talking to their officials, and we do want to know the reasons for the decisions that they’ve taken. I still find it baffling that kids can’t go to school across the board. As you know and I think you said in the introduction, in New South Wales the kids have been kept from school for only about 29 days yet in Victoria kids have been out of the classroom for 21 weeks. And, you know, if they’re going to allow other activities to take place, I would have thought a priority should have been placed on getting our kids educated in the classroom.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So, will your support be contingent on being given that information?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, that information, that discussion, is taking place. But these are decisions about lockdowns that the Federal Government don’t make. These are the decisions about state lockdown…
NEIL MITCHELL:
No, but you’re being asked to fund it. You’re being asked to fund it in a way, so it’s reasonable to say, “Why the hell are you doing it,” isn’t it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it’s absolutely reasonable to ask those questions, and they’re questions we’re asking. But ultimately the decisions that will be taken will be done at a state level. As you know, it’s the same virus, Neil, in New South Wales as in Victoria. It’s the same technology – QR code systems – that are available in New South Wales and across the country. It’s the same quarantine facilities that arguably should be applied and used across the country.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Look at it this way: Victoria seems to be facing or chasing an eradication strategy, doesn’t it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we don’t believe that that is the right strategy to..
NEIL MITCHELL:
No, I understand that.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
…to eliminate the virus.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But do you agree that’s what Victoria seems to be doing?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, I’ll leave that commentary to you. But I do note that we’ve got a low number of cases, as I understand it, in Victoria today. And so some success is being made in suppressing and the contact testing and tracing.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And the question really becomes here about getting the balance right because we know how damaging lockdowns can be to people’s mental health. It can separate families and loved ones and, of course, it can obviously cost businesses and their workers their livelihoods.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Both the State and Federal Budget were predicated to some extent on no more lockdowns…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Extended lockdowns.
NEIL MITCHELL:
No more, yeah, okay. Will this two week lockdown affect the Federal Budget?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Victoria’s a quarter of the national economy. So clearly what happens in Victoria does affect the broader economic settings. But, again, it will depend on how long this lockdown is, because it does dent confidence, it does hurt investment decisions. We did take into account the fact that there would be a series of outbreaks in the Budget, but we didn’t assume that there would be extended lockdowns. So let’s just wait and see how long exactly Victoria is subject to these restrictions. But I want to point out, Neil, that last year in Victoria unemployment spiked to 7.4 per cent. But we saw it reduce to 5.5 per cent in April. So the jobs have been coming back in Victoria. Growth has been, being generated, has been increasing. And that’s why it’s so disappointing and devastating to see another lockdown, the fourth such lockdown that the Victorians have had to endure.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So why? As I said, 166 days lockdown; New South Wales, biggest state, 45. School kids in Victoria have missed 22 weeks. The next nearest is the ACT with eight; New South Wales, seven; Queensland, five. Why? Why us?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, that is a very legitimate question. I think you’ve got more than 6 million Victorians saying, “Why us?” I mean, I find the most powerful statistic is that if you take out the initial nationwide lockdown, Victorians have been subject to 140 days of lockdown whereas the average across the other five states and two territories is just six days – 140 days versus six days. Now you can’t blame the Indian variant for that. You can’t blame the Federal Government for that. You can’t blame vaccination strategies for that. You can’t blame quarantine facilities that haven’t yet been built for that. You have to assume, and accept some of the responsibility, and that is what..
NEIL MITCHELL:
So who’s fault is it? Who stuffed up?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Those are the questions that more than six million Victorians, including many of your listeners, are asking the Victorian Government.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well, what’s your answer? You’re the Treasurer; what’s your answer? What went wrong? Who stuffed it up?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, firstly, you’ve seen very clearly what I’ve had to say over the course of the last 15 months. The quarantine disaster last year which cost lives and livelihoods was an unmitigated disaster. And there was obviously a review in Victoria which quite bizarrely, unacceptably, found nobody was to blame. But I’m not here to relitigate those issues. What I’m saying is as the Federal Treasurer my sympathies are right now with the Victorian families and businesses that are going through a lockdown. They don’t want to see another federal-state argy-bargy. That’s why obviously the comments from Victoria were very disappointing the other day. What they want to see is cooperation, and they want to see their interests being put first. That’s why I’ll have more to say later today, and that’s why I have had a constructive discussion with Tim Pallas only last night.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So your package will be released later today, will it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, we’ll have more to say, likely today.
NEIL MITCHELL:
I think that just slipped, alright. But let’s talk to real people in the real world at the moment. What hope can you offer to the person who hasn’t had any money through the door for the past week and won’t for the next week, the casual worker, the wage earner? What hope can you offer to businesses that are saying, “How the hell do I keep the doors open when this is over?” What hope can you offer those people?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, I don’t want to pre-empt any specific announcements that I’ve, that have yet to be made. But we are conscious that businesses and families are doing it very tough now. We do have some existing programs, as you know, and the Victorian Government announced for the first week of the lockdown a $250 million package and a $209 million package for the second week of the lockdown. Clearly the cost to the community is a lot greater than that in purely economic terms, but as we’ve been discussing, it’s even greater than that when you talk about emotional and mental health consequences as well.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay. Can you offer us any hope on the vaccine rollout? I mean, that’s been a mess. We are agreed it’s been a mess, haven’t we, aren’t we?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, let’s talk about that. Because originally we were confronted with some supply issues. There was also the issue of blood clots and the application of the AstraZeneca vaccine to those who are under 50. The vaccine rollout has been gaining pace. So for the last seven days there’s been 700,000 people who have received a jab. That is an acceleration in the take-up. We saw for the first million doses that were distributed, Neil, it took 47 days; for the last million doses that have been distributed it’s taken 13 days. So there is real speed and acceleration in the rollout. That’s a positive thing. Someone’s just come into my office, Neil, to say a division is being called. Democracy in action. I’ve got to go and cast my vote.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Thank you for your time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
All the best.