PETER STEFANOVIC:
To Canberra now, and joining us live is the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg. Treasurer, good morning. Thanks for joining us as always.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
So let’s start on that one, we may as well – the big news out of the UK overnight. It must energise you and it should energise us as well.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, this is obviously a very welcome development, and Greg Hunt, the health minister, has spoken to the Australian CEO of Pfizer. As you know, the British situation is somewhat different to Australia’s in that they have had more than 1 million COVID infections, nearly 60,000 deaths, while here in Australia Pete, there is not one person on a ventilator or in ICU due to COVID. That being said, we’ve got our own approvals process, which is expected to conclude by the end of January, and then, if the vaccine is safe to distribute, then to occur not long after that.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
So, those dates aren’t changing, as far as you’re aware?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Greg Hunt’s put out that statement, and he has stuck to those dates for a process to conclude by the end of January and then, hopefully, for the vaccine to start to be distributed by March.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay, let’s go on to those numbers from yesterday. No doubt heartening to see that Australia is out of recession. We weren’t in it for very long, but we’re out of it. But it must have been hard for those hundreds of thousands of Australians who are unemployed at the moment. It must be hard for them to stomach.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, life is certainly tough for many Australian families and many Australian businesses. COVID-19 has been a once-in-a-century pandemic and the greatest economic shock this country and the world has seen since the Great Depression. So, we will feel the consequences and the impacts of that for some time to come. But these are an encouraging set of numbers, Pete. The 3.3 per cent increase in the September quarter for GDP, the single largest increase since 1976. It’s a reflection of household consumption jumping by 7.9 per cent, and household consumption is nearly 60 per cent of GDP. It’s also a reflection of the success on the health front with our restrictions being eased, people being able to go about their daily lives. So, the momentum is certainly building for the economic recovery. This is just the latest data point in a set of economic numbers that has trended in the right direction. We saw 178,000 jobs being created last month, we saw Australia’s AAA credit rating reaffirmed, we saw building approvals up by 3.8 per cent, we saw capital city house prices up by 0.7 per cent. So, we are seeing, across the board, including consumer and business confidence, all picking up very nicely.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Given that Victoria is still lagging behind, though, is there any plan to extend JobKeeper beyond March or even change it in any way, shape or form?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
No. The JobKeeper program is set to end in March, and it has always been our intention that that program is temporary, it’s targeted, it’s scalable, and it’s using existing systems. It’s been an incredibly successful program. We heard only recently from the Reserve Bank Pete, that the JobKeeper program had helped save at least 700,000 jobs. It’s been a glue between employers and employees. We got the ATO data for the month of October, and it showed that there were 2 million fewer Australians on JobKeeper and 450,000 fewer Australian businesses on JobKeeper in the month of October compared to September and that is a sign of the economic recovery gaining pace. I also want to point out that JobKeeper is just one of a number of economic measures that we have outlined to support the Australian economy, particularly in the Budget, just on October the 6th, the set of business investment incentives, the JobMaker hiring credit, which has now been legislated, the loss carry back measure and of course, the tax cuts for more than 11.5 million Australians, which is already seeing money going into people’s pockets. All of those measures combined are designed to support the Australian economy and the Australian people.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
China is now the biggest impediment to a fuller recovery, isn’t it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, obviously the trade tensions with China are substantial and we would like to work through those with China at a bilateral level, but if that is unable to occur then we always reserve our right to pursue multilateral options. That being said, China is our number one trading partner. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship in that our iron ore has helped underpin China’s economic growth, our agriculture is amongst the best in the world. Likewise, Chinese tourists and Chinese students have been coming to Australia in great numbers. So, we want that economic relationship to continue. But when you look at that list of 14 grievances that the Chinese Government has outlined, we’re not going to give way on those. They go to the heart of who we are, our national identity – a free press, a democratically elected parliament and, obviously, upholding our national interests when it comes to things like foreign investment.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Scott Morrison put out a message on WeChat yesterday. That has since been blocked by China. It says it violated regulations, including distorting historical events and confusing the public. What’s your reaction to that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, that decision, obviously, to delete the Prime Minister’s post is a matter for the platform to explain. But I can tell you…
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Is it petty?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it’s unnecessary. What the Prime Minister has said on that WeChat post was that we are very proud of Australia’s servicemen and women. We have set up an independent, transparent process to look at those allegations and to follow and pursue them as appropriate, that we value our relationship with the Australian-Chinese community, we value our relationship with the Chinese people, and in no way do the current challenges in the bilateral relationship impact upon those.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Just finally Treasurer, Bridget Archer has threatened to cross the floor to vote against any future expansion of the cashless debit card scheme. Will you try to change her mind to avoid that from happening?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, Bridget Archer is a close colleague and friend and a terrific member and she speaks from the heart about her own constituent’s experience and those of others. Now I know that the cashless debit card has been very successful. It has helped reduce the crime rates, it’s helped reduce the use of drugs and alcohol in certain communities and it’s been able to help increase school attendance – all the things that are important to local communities, particularly ones that are challenged in that way. So, we maintain that the cashless debit card is good policy and obviously we’ve rolled it out as such.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Will you try and change her mind, though?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, Bridget is entitled to her own opinions, and she gave a passionate speech, and I don’t want to detract from that other than to say that the Government has a clear position on this.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, appreciate your time this morning, as always. Talk to you soon.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Thank you.