ROSS STEVENSON:
The one who has to deal, couldn’t see it coming like all of us, is the Federal Treasurer and Member for Kooyong, Josh Frydenberg. Josh, good morning to you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning Ross and good morning John. Ross, how is my local electorate going?
ROSS STEVENSON:
It’s going well. It’s thriving, it’s leafy, it’s green and its beautiful as usual. Hey, can you tell us, for someone who’s listening who has lost their job already, what does the package mean for them?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well it means a flat payment of $1,500 a fortnight. The employer needs to make an application to the Australian Tax Office and register their interest, and the employer will be able to get these payments that they will pass through to employees for employees that were on the books as of the 1st of March. So if you have been stood down, you will still be on the books and the employer will still be able to get that money for you, and eligible businesses will be those that have seen their turnover fall by more than 30 percent as a result of the coronavirus.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Now as far as employees are concerned, as I understand it, it’s not simply those who have been stood down who are eligible for the $1,500 a fortnight is it?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well it’s broader than the UK Scheme. The UK Scheme applies to just stood down workers, our scheme applies to employers who still may have their employees working. So for example, the local cafe that may not be able to have people inside the premises but can still operate as a take-away café, they will continue to need staff and those staff will receive this wage subsidy.
ROSS STEVENSON:
There’s a restaurant just up the way from me that’s had to put all of its staff off, some of them have got jobs elsewhere, some of them have not got jobs. Will they all get $1,500 a fortnight?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
If they were on the books at the 1st of March and they meet the criteria, namely that they’re a casual that have been with the same employer for more than 12 months or in the case of a sole trader, someone who has seen their income fall by about 30 percent or more, or they are a not-for-profit organisation, they will all be eligible under this scheme.
ROSS STEVENSON:
And this scheme goes from what, the 1st of May for six months? Then at the end of six months what happens?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well obviously we don’t know how long the Coronavirus will go for and one of our concerns has been that until a vaccine is found it’s going to be very difficult to get the economy back to normal. So our scheme is for six months, that’s what the $130 billion costing is based on, and we believe around 6 million employees will access this scheme. It compares again to both the New Zealand and the UK Schemes, which are only three months duration and I think that is consistent with the approach the Prime Minister has taken, where he has prepared the nation for the long haul ahead.
ROSS STEVENSON:
And what about the self-employed?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
The sole-traders are eligible for this. So if you’re a sparky, you’re a carpenter, a plumber, you’re going about your daily business but you’ve seen your turnover fall quite dramatically as a result of the health restrictions put in place by the coronavirus, well you will benefit too.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Ok and I guess down the line and at the back of some people’s mind they will have the question, how are we going to pay for all of this?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well we will pay for this for years to come, that’s the harsh reality of the debt burden that’s created by this level of spending and I have to say to you guys that when I became the Treasurer, I was hoping to deliver the first surplus in twelve years, but then events happened beyond my control. A global pandemic has hit and you turn on the TV everyday and you see the tragedies in Spain and Italy and indeed increasingly in the United States and it’s of great concern. So we make no apologies for the tough health restrictions that were put into place based on the Chief Medical Officers advice. But the flow on economic impact is also very severe and that’s why we’ve needed to take these unprecedented spending measures.
JOHN BURNS:
Where does the $130 billion come from in the first place?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well we issue bonds through the Australian Office of Financial Management, people buys those bonds and that’s how we fund spending like this.
ROSS STEVENSON:
I know you’re a proud Melbournian. We’ve adopted the Greg Champion song ‘Don’t let the big V down’, if we all do the right thing, we can get those number of those daily fresh cases down and the last three days in Victoria there have been 111, to 86, to 54, so we’re all in it together trying to do the right thing by ‘the big V’ and waiting for today’s daily figure and hoping it’s fewer than 54 but there will be lumps and bumps. There will be a lot of people who will be very grateful for this package and Josh, we thank you very much.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well thank you, this is very much a Team Australia moment, we are all in this together and that’s why people have to listen to the medical advice and we are fighting a war on two fronts, the health crisis and the economic crisis simultaneously but your listeners Ross and John, need to know that the Government has their back.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Good on you Josh. Josh Frydenberg Federal Treasurer, Member for Kooyong and passionate supporter of the Dynamo Brest Blues.