ROSS STEVENSON:
Josh Frydenberg is the Federal Treasurer. Treasurer, good morning to you.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Good morning, guys. Nice to be with you.
ROSS STEVENSON:
As Treasurer, do you see not planes coming in, but cash?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I see both because Qantas have sold over half a million tickets in the last two weeks. This compares to selling just 20,000 tickets back in August over a two‑week period. Jetstar have sold 75,000 international seats in the last 72 hours, and Virgin have also seen strong growth. This is good news for our economy, but it's also good news for Victorians and for all Australians as people can start to be reunited with family and friends.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Are you surprised at how Melbourne has been – and it's early days, we don't want to go the early crow – but are you surprised at how quickly Melbourne has sort of pivoted?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it is important that we eased those restrictions, that we ended the lockdowns. And I don't need to remind you or your listeners that Melbourne endured the longest lockdown of any city in the world. And it really had an impact, not just on the economy and businesses and people's job prospects but also on mental health and wellbeing. I mean, Patrick McGorry, a former Australian of the Year, talks about the shadow pandemic. And I speak to a lot of friends who have got kids who have really been challenged by the fact that they've been out of the classroom for more than a year. I don't think we can overlook the very significant impact that the long lockdown has had on Victorians and, indeed, Melburnians, but at the same time there's lot of pent‑up demand. And with the restrictions easing and easing quickly, I'm confident that the economy will bounce back strongly.
RUSSEL HOWCROFT:
So, Treasurer, the good thing about a downturn is that it has to turn the other way. You know, for every down there's an up. How big an up are you expecting over the next, say, 12 months?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I'm expecting the December quarter, Russel, to be very strong and then into next year we've got the Reserve Bank predicting growth of more than 4 per cent. As you know, unemployment has been kept low. It's under 5 per cent for the first time in more than a decade. I'm expecting the numbers to be positive from here. That being said, we're still living the midst of a pandemic. You don't know if there's going to be another variant around the corner. But what I do know is we have to live with the virus, and this is why the vaccination rates are so important, because as you get to those 80 and 90 per cent double‑dose vaccination rates you are really building strength and defence among the population at large.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Treasurer, I was down the bush on the weekend and, make no mistake, people are very happy, delighted, right, just over the moon. But people who run businesses – all businesses, but especially hospitality – their issue is staff.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yeah.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Is there a way around it? Is there – you know, can you create a ministry of staff to try to solve these problems?
RUSSEL HOWCROFT:
Come on, Treasurer – fix it.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Fix it. Yeah, in other words, is it fixable?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it is, and you're absolutely right, too, Ross. Labour force shortages are happening in the hospitality sector, they're happening in the construction sector, in aspects of our mining sector and, when you speak to professional services, which obviously Russel knows a lot about, IT and other, you know, technology‑proficient workers are in high demand. What we are obviously doing is focusing on increased training. And you may know that we've pumped billions of dollars into apprenticeship places, which is going to help support more workers in the weeks, months and years ahead. But at the same time, opening up those international borders and allowing skilled migration is going to be important, as well as those workers who come to work in the agricultural sector, because they've also seen some workforce shortages. So we're tackling it on both fronts. We're tackling it in terms of the skills and the training piece, but also moving to open our borders as soon as it's safe to do so.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Treasurer, Tim Smith, I don't know this for a fact, but I read in the newspapers, is asserted to be a close colleague – not only a colleague of yours but a close colleague of yours here in Melbourne. What's your reaction to the affairs of the weekend?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, obviously I'm deeply disappointed in his conduct and his behaviour. And anybody who drink drives is not only engaging in dangerous conduct but it's completely unacceptable, and it's not without consequence. And, as you know, he's stood down from the shadow cabinet, and I think that was the right thing to do. The good news, though, is that in this instance no one was injured in the accident. But it is a very timely reminder to everyone listening this morning – don't get behind the wheel if you have been drinking because you don't only endanger your own life but that of others.
RUSSEL HOWCROFT:
Exactly.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Should he exit parliament as well.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, he'll make his own decisions about his own future. But he is the member for Kew. He's got responsibilities in the local community, and that falls within the broader federal electorate of Kooyong. I'll continue to work with him, but I have also made it very clear that that conduct was deeply disappointing and it's unacceptable.
ROSS STEVENSON:
Good on you, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.