PETER STEFANOVIC:
The Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, joins us live now. Treasurer, good to see you. Thanks for your time this morning. No doubt the economy is humming along, but have even you been surprised at the number of businesses that have been able to stay in business because of, you know, essentially the money that you threw at them?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It’s a better than expected outcome with insolvencies down by around 40 per cent year on year. It’s another proof point in Australia’s road to economic recovery. It comes after we’ve seen job ads 30 per cent higher than they were going into the pandemic, consumer confidence rising in seven out of the last eight weeks, unemployment at 4.6 per cent – a 12‑year low – and consumer spending really picking up in the locked down states of New South Wales and Victoria as a result of the easing of restrictions. We’re pretty optimistic and confident, Pete, about the economy’s outlook. And so is the Reserve Bank. Just last week they updated their economic outlook and their growth forecasts from four and a quarter per cent to five and a half per cent for next year. And they’re expecting to see unemployment in the fours for a sustained period, the first time since the 1970s.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Still an issue with skilled workers, though. And we spoke about this a few times last week. The problem for businesses right across the country, for the matter, is that they don’t have a signal from you, from your government, on a date when they can expect skilled workers to get here. So what kind of assurance can you provide? What date are you working towards?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, as you know, there’s been an easing of restrictions are respect to border travel, international travel and domestic travel. The fact that you can now example for overseas as an Australian citizen or resident and not have to go through home quarantine or, indeed, hotel quarantine if you’re double vaccinated, that’s a step forward. Our next step the Prime Minister and our team are working through is to ensure that skilled workers can do the same. They’ll be able to come from Singapore, as you know, very soon as a result of those new travel arrangements that we’ve put in place. To bring that broader cohort of skilled workers as well as international students from overseas will be a very positive thing. As you know, we’ve already seen agricultural workers come from the Pacific to Australia to help work on our farms, and we’re looking at the first available opportunity…
PETER STEFANOVIC:
But what date? Have you got a date?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Before the end of the year, Pete.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Before.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
That’s what we’re working towards. Before the end of the year, we want to obviously work through this in a considered way.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Is that ironclad?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, that’s what we’re working towards.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
And, of course, we’ll have more to say about that at a later point.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. And also we’ve spoken about this a few times, too – you’ve got workers now perhaps coming through Singapore in the travel bubble. Still can’t get them from WA, though. And the Premier announced last week on Friday that he’s not going to open the border until the state reaches 90 per cent double dose. It’s estimated to be February next year. Essentially we’ve got an island within an island here in Australia at the moment. What is your response to that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
There’s no reason why Western Australia should be any different to any other state across the country – that they have opened up at 70 and 80 per cent vaccination rates – and obviously we’re always striving to get those vaccination rates higher than that. And we have seen that in the ACT, New South Wales, Victoria and I’m sure the other states will follow suit. I would like to see Western Australia, as the other states have done, announce a road map that is obviously COVID safe but also allows their own community to travel more quickly than what has already been laid out today.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Are you in election mode now, Treasurer? With an April budget and an election in May?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No election has been called, Pete. But what we are doing is obviously explaining to the Australian people the strength of the economy, the fact that our measures that we announced over the course of this pandemic – more than 500‑strong – that saw regulators, the Reserve Bank, business and government come together have worked. The Labor Party set us a key test – in their word, a key test – midway through last year, which was we would be judged as a government on our management of the recession by what happened to jobs and to businesses. As we now know, businesses have got back on their feet. Jobs have been created and there’s 1.4 million additional people who are in work since we’ve come to government. Despite facing the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression, despite facing the first pandemic in a century, unemployment today is at 4.6 per cent, a 12‑year low, compared to 5.7 per cent when Labor came to government. The contrast at the next election, Pete, will be very clear – we’re for lower taxes, we’re for more jobs; Labor is for higher taxes and more spending, of course.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Your Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, it’s been reported overnight that he helped devise and oversee a potentially illegal branch‑stacking scheme. Does he still have your support?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
He does. And as you know, the matter’s referred to in 60 Minutes have already been investigated independently by the Finance Department. They put out a statement saying that they had not seen evidence of a misuse of taxpayers’ resources. They had made that statement very clearly when 60 Minutes first aired these allegations. Now, of course there was also private text messages that were released yesterday as well. And that related to my colleague Jane Hume. Those comments by Michael were wrong. They were unfair. They should never have been made, and he did put out a statement yesterday apologising to Jane Hume. I, as the Treasurer, have worked very closely with both Michael and Jane, and of course I have the greatest respect for Jane and for the many challenges that many of our colleagues face in managing home life, work life and everything else that is involved with a life in politics.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
The investigation, though, the investigation you talked about though, it was a government‑commissioned investigation and it failed interview three key witnesses, and Mr Sukkar made strong representations to block the report’s release. I mean, it’s not really transparent at all.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
As I understand from Mr Sukkar’s statement, they did talk to members of staff. There was an independent investigation in both to Mr Andrews’ office and Mr Sukkar’s offices. And the finance investigation found that there was no serious misuse of taxpayers’ resources. That’s the statement that the Finance Department has put out. If there’s any new information, no doubt that will be referred again to the Finance Department.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Treasurer, we’ve run out of time. Appreciate your time, though. We’ll talk to you soon.