PETER STEFANOVIC:
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg joins us live. Treasurer, good to see you as always. Thanks for your time.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good to see you, Pete.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Just first, let’s start on this guaranteed loans, the extension of that for small and medium businesses. Is more debt more dangerous for those businesses who can’t afford it, though?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, individual businesses will make their own decisions based on their own circumstances. But this loan scheme has already been very successful. More than 70,000 loans have been delivered, worth more than $6 billion. Now there had been a requirement that those recipients had been on JobKeeper during the March quarter. We’ve removed that requirement. Obviously, they need to have been impacted by COVID, but we’re providing up to $5 million loans for up to 10 years with the first two years repayment free. Now, that is a decision to enter into those loan agreements with the banks, guaranteed by the government, that individual businesses will make. But, no doubt, this money will help with working capital, it will help businesses expand - maybe purchasing new machinery and equipment, and in the words of COSBOA, the Council of Small Business, they have said this great news and it will help their members rebuild and reopen.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
So, when is it available for them?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It’s available now, and there are agreements that were put in place with the major banks and with other lenders, and those details will be available for businesses to go and access that scheme. And this scheme, again, is another element of the government’s economic response plan. Of course, we’re providing grants, untied grants, to small businesses right around the country, in partnership with the state governments. We’re providing up to $750 a week to people who’ve lost hours of work. This is just another element of our economic response.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Treasurer, you and the Prime Minister are now urging Premiers to stick to the national plan. Is your government’s fate riding on this?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, this is about the fate of the country. This is about the future of our communities. This is about the strength and the resilience of our economy. We know that we cannot live in the world where we’re expecting to reach zero COVID. Zero COVID forever is unrealistic. They’re not my words; they’re the words of the medical experts at the Doherty Institute. And, therefore, it’s incumbent upon the premiers and the chief ministers to stick to the plan that was agreed at National Cabinet. You see, if we don’t open up at 70, 80 per cent, Pete, when do we open up? When do kids go back to school? When do businesses reopen? When will we be able to go and celebrate weddings or attend funerals of loved ones? When do we move freely in our own country? People need hope, and the plan is that hope. And that is why the Premiers and the Chief Ministers need to stick to the agreement they made with the Prime Minister at National Cabinet.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Are you boxing with one hand here, though, Treasurer? Because it’s the Premiers who call the shots?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, at the end of the day, the states make their individual public health orders, but they need to be very conscious of the economic damage that will be caused by continuing lockdowns longer than they have to. That’s my point. Right now, we’re in the suppression phase, as the vaccination program is gaining real momentum. More than 215 jabs every minute of every day. And we now have that 70 and 80 per cent target in sight. But we’re told by the medical experts at the Doherty Institute that when you get to that 70 and 80 per cent, the transmissibility of the virus reduces, the number of people who get serious illness reduces, and then you can reopen safely. You’ve heard from Sharon Lewin, the head of the Doherty Institute – it doesn’t matter if you start with 30 cases or 800 cases; you can reopen safely. And that is our intention - to reopen safely, to allow businesses to reopen.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
On that point, the Doherty Institute says, and she says, if you open up with more cases you will have a greater load, at least initially, on the public health system. So, can you give any assurances that our hospitals can handle that influx?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we’re working with the state governments to ensure that our hospital system can. And we do know that we’ve beefed up our ability to meet those increased caseloads. Right from day one of this pandemic, we’ve been providing the economic support and we’ve been providing the health support. See, last year we had no alternative - sharp, hard lockdowns were the only way the virus could be suppressed. This year is quite different because the vaccine is our ticket out of this crisis. Lockdowns are not our future; the vaccination rate is our future. And that’s why it’s so pleasing to see so many Australians doing their part of the bargain. Now, it’s up to the Premiers and the Chief Ministers to hold up their end.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Sure. Like the Prime Minister was saying yesterday, it is a deal that is in place with the Australian public at the moment. Now, today, Treasurer, Christmas, exactly four months away. Will there be interstate travel before Christmas?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, of course that is what we would like to see. We would like to see more freedom of movement across borders. And that’s why hitting those targets is so important. But the good news for people watching your program this morning is that the vaccination rollout has really gained momentum. It’s happening faster than we’ve seen on the best days in the United States and in the United Kingdom. And we really do have those targets of 70, 80 per cent in sight. We obviously focused first and foremost on those vulnerable cohorts, where you’ve got now more than 85 per cent of over 70s having received a jab. You’ve got 75 per cent of the over 50s having received a jab. And you’ve got more than 50 per cent of the eligible population having received the jab. That is a really good sign that we are now moving in the right direction.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
You can’t make the Premiers stick to the plan, though, can you?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I think they’re going to be very conscious of not only the public mood and sentiment, which is shifting, but, of course, the idea that they must live with the virus. There’s no alternative to living with the virus. No other country has eliminated it, and certainly Australia, according to the medical advice, is not about to eliminate it. Therefore, we need to have the right restrictions, the right health systems to cope with living with the virus. That’s what we’ve been putting in place. And now we’re having this very frank, open conversation with the Australian people. Living with the virus does mean more cases. It does mean deaths. It does mean people getting seriously ill. But the numbers of the people who will be badly affected dramatically comes down as the vaccination rate goes up.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Have you seen The Croods?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I haven’t, but obviously I saw the Prime Minister’s comments last night, and I can confirm we didn’t watch it last night, either.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Oh, you didn’t watch it together? Okay, well, that’s good to know. Treasurer, we’re out of time. Appreciate that. We’ll talk to you soon.