PETER STEFANOVIC:
Australia's economy is stronger than it was before the COVID pandemic. The latest ABS data shows it grew 3.4 per cent during the December quarter. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg joins us live now. Treasurer, good morning to you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
We've got this flooding crisis, though, we'll start there. I just want to get some figures, if you have them, on the financial support. Do you know how many people have applied for financial support so far?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
More than 145,000 claims have been made for the disaster recovery payment. That's being processed as we speak. We've also triggered the disaster recovery allowance, which are payments of up to 13 weeks in duration, which help people who have been unable to get to work because supply chains have been cut off and because of flooding across different areas. But, clearly, this is a major crisis, and our thoughts go out to all those families and businesses that have been impacted and, of course, a big thank you, too, to those selfless emergency services personnel who are helping on the ground as well as our 900 Defence Force personnel who are helping right now on the ground.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
That's a lot of claims so far, isn't it – 145,000 lives upended there.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It is. And it's just a reflection of the seriousness of these flooding events. And, of course, the banks have stepped in as well, providing three months of relief from repayments, which is welcome. And I've been talking to the head of the Banking Association Matt Comyn, and, of course, the insurance companies we've been in touch with as well, because they need to show real understanding because so many Australian families are right now in real need.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
When it comes to disaster relief, the threat isn't over. In fact, it's getting worse. It's spreading further south now, Treasurer. Are you expecting more local government areas to be activated?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I would expect the challenges to continue, and the answer would be yes, that more local governments will be impacted by the floods. And we'll work with them as part of the clean‑up process. We'll work with state governments as well, as we've done in the past, whether it's cyclones, whether it's fires or floods such as these. We've got very proven, effective relationships and processes in place, Pete, that help the national response to disasters such as this.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
There's ongoing support as you know, there's a couple of months' worth there. People have lost their homes, though. You've seen the pictures. It's going to take people a lot longer than a few months to get over it. What options are available for them if they need it beyond 13 weeks or so?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, that's where category C and category D payments come into play, and that's what Bridget McKenzie has been working within government and, of course, in cooperation with her state counterparts as well. So we'll have more to say about that very shortly. But we have always been there for Australians in a disaster, and this will be no exception.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Right. So there's more coming? There's more coming?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
There'll be more announcements, more detail, more partnerships with the states and local government.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Leaving that aside, Treasurer, some pretty big figures yesterday. The economy now 3.4 per cent higher than pre‑pandemic levels. Is the recovery complete from COVID?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
It's not. And COVID is still with us. As you know, Omicron hit early this year and it created real problems in the workforce with high levels of absenteeism. But some of those challenges have ameliorated and what we've seen in early spending data this year is that the actual spend of Australian consumers is up on the corresponding period the year prior. Business conditions and confidence has improved and job vacancies remain more than 30 per cent higher than they were going into the pandemic. But yesterday's December quarterly growth of 3.4 per cent was the equal strongest quarterly growth in some 46 years and really underlines the resilience of the Australian economy. We threw the kitchen sink at our response, as you know – JobKeeper, the cash flow boost, $750 payments to pensioners, carers and veterans, working with the banks to ensure $250 billion worth of loans didn't have interest and principal repayments, working with state governments so that commercial landlords could give commercial tenants relief, working to underwrite aviation routes so that freight could still move across the country. More than a thousand decisions were taken. They were major decisions that were taken across government, which has helped put Australia now in a really strong position going into 2022. And we have outperformed, Pete, all major advanced economies. We've outperformed, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy and France both in terms of economic growth as well as employment outcomes since the start of the pandemic.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
You upped the defence spend at the end of last year to two and a half per cent of GDP. Given the threat has only increased since then, particularly in our region – we don't know what China's going to do, what they do beyond Russia – is there a plan to go higher? Do you want to go higher than two and a half per cent?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
You will see further investments from our government in defence and national security. And that's a reflection of the times that we are in. Let's not forget that under Labor defence spending went down to its lowest proportion of GDP since 1938. It was an absolute disgrace what the Labor Party did to defence and national security when they were last in office. We have actually picked up the reins and we've run hard and we've invested very significantly in our capability across our intelligence services, law enforcement services and, of course, Defence itself, including in a very strong pipeline of construction as part of our capability plan. So we'll continue to make those investment decisions in this budget and beyond.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Can I just close on a final thought here, Treasurer: I want to get your thoughts on Vladimir Putin, who says that he is continuing to de‑Nazify Ukraine even though the President of Ukraine is Jewish. There was a key Ukrainian Holocaust site that was bombed yesterday just on the outskirts of Kyiv. What's your thoughts on that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, that's a disgraceful statement from President Putin, and it shows a complete lack of understanding of what the Ukrainians have been through and obviously of the history of the Holocaust and the Nazi period. The head of Ukraine, Zelenskyy is absolutely right – not only is he Jewish but he's very proud of the fact that he's provided extra recognition of the atrocities of the Holocaust during his tenure as leader. And it just goes to the disinformation, the lies, the propaganda of the Russian regime and particularly Vladimir Putin and this cronies. And people should just not believe it.
What they can see is the images on their TVs this morning of civilian targets being bombed, innocent lives being lost and a peaceful country being invaded by an aggressive one. And this is really a vital moment in world history, Pete, where the coalition of like‑minded countries, liberal democracies the world over, need to stand up and say this is completely unacceptable and that we will do everything we can to push back on Putin and his cronies.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Josh Frydenberg, thanks, as always, for your time. We'll talk to you soon.