PETER STEFANOVIC:
Well, let’s go to Canberra now. Joining us live is the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg. Treasurer, good to see you. Thanks for your time, as always this morning. Just wondering in light of the Attorney General’s press conference yesterday, have you spoken to him since then?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No, I’ve been in contact with him over text and I have wished him well it what has been a very difficult time for him, and no doubt everybody else who have been involved. This has been a distressing time in the Parliament, Pete, over recent weeks. But yesterday you could see that anguish on Christian Porter’s face. He made an emphatic denial of the allegations against him and as we know, there is only one authorised body to deal with these issues, and that is the police and the police have said the case is closed, and that remains the case.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Do you believe his side of the story, Treasurer?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I’m in no position to make a judgement about those particular issues. This goes back 33 years ago. But the Prime Minister was asked the very same question, and the answer remains that this is a matter for the police. They’re the best ones to ascertain the voracity of the facts and the allegations. It’s not whether you believe him or I believe him. The question is what has been the outcome of that police investigation. And they’ve said that the case is closed. Every one of my colleagues, including Christian Porter, and indeed every Australian is entitled to the presumption of innocence and I think we need to remember that very clearly in these very difficult circumstances.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Do you back him to continue in the job?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely I do. He fulfils an important role in the Government. Yesterday he strenuously and emphatically denied those allegations, and we’ve heard from the police who are the only authorised body to deal with such serious criminal matters and allegations, and they’ve said that the case is closed.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Will there be an independent inquiry?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we don’t believe there should be an independent inquiry. Again, it’s the police who deal with these criminal allegations, and they have spoken in this matter.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
In the end, though, it may well be the only thing to deal with this and satisfy Christian Porter’s critics.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I don’t think you’ll be satisfying Christian Porter’s critics by any actions that the Government takes. The reality is, that they were serious allegations that were made. They related to events 33 years ago. The police is the authorised body to deal with them, they have spoken, said that the case is closed and Christian Porter has emphatically denied the events, and he’s entitled to the presumption of innocence. As you know, members of the Press Gallery who have been around a lot longer than you or I, Pete, have commented on events in recent days and have felt that there’s been a very different standard that’s been applied to Christian Porter than to others in this place when other allegations were made. This has to be beyond politics. This has to be about the rule of law and the presumption of innocence, and that’s our Government’s firm position.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
So are you satisfied that his denial ends the matter?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I think the matter is at an end because the police have spoken, and it’s the police whose judgement and whose decision is the most important here.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Overnight there’s also been reporting Treasurer, that Linda Reynolds called Britt Higgins a ‘lying cow’. What’s your reaction to that? Is that acceptable language?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Linda Reynolds has put out a statement and she’s made it very clear that she’s never challenged Brittany Higgins’ version of events. So she’s made that very, very clear. And, of course, Linda, like Christian, is taking some time off to recover from what has been a difficult period for both of them.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
It’s unacceptable language, though, right?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, you’re asking me in the abstract. Linda Reynolds hasn’t said that she’s used that language. That is what has been reported in today’s media. Linda Reynolds has put out a statement and she has said that she has never denied Brittany Higgins’ version of events.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
All isn’t well with the Liberal Party at the moment, Treasurer, is it? I mean, you’ve got two ministers who are effectively sidelined at the moment. How does the Government function properly with that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we’re going to keep delivering for the Australian people. Their focus, our focus, remains on the rollout of the vaccine and the economic response and recovery. That’s what matters to the lives of Australian people right now. And yesterday we saw Pete, some pretty significant economic data with the December quarter showing that the Australian economy grew by 3.1 per cent. It was slightly overshadowed by other events in the parliament yesterday. But when you look at those economic numbers you can look at Australia’s economic performance in the context of the rest of the world and we have outperformed all other advanced economies. Records first began with respect to the quarterly national account numbers in 1959, and this is the first time Australia has seen two consecutive quarters of economic growth above 3 per cent. And what was very pleasing about yesterday’s numbers was that it was the private sector that was helping to drive that recovery with household consumption being up, with dwelling investment being up, with business investment being up and of course, with farm GDP having a 33 per cent rise off the back of the second best winter crop on record. This should give Australians confidence and hope about the period ahead. We’re not through this crisis yet. There’s still a long way to go. It’s going to be a bumpy, hard road, particularly with JobKeeper coming to an end in March. But you wouldn’t want to be in any other country but Australia right now.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
All right, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, appreciate your time this morning. Thanks as always for joining us. Talk to you soon.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
A pleasure.