SABRA LANE:
Treasurer, the path to a full economic recovery depends on herd immunity and borders lifting. When will herd immunity be reached given this latest problem with the rollout?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, we are seeking to get as many people vaccinated as fast as possible and, as you know, we’ve taken the advice from ATAGI, the medical experts, that the AstraZeneca vaccine now should be confined to those who are 60 and over. That now follows some of the challenges that we’ve seen in recent weeks and recent months. It’s relatively consistent with what we’ve seen around the rest of the world, although in the United Kingdom the AstraZeneca vaccine is available to those aged 40 and over; and in Korea those aged 30 and over; and in Germany those aged 18 and over. But we’ve got more doses of the Pfizer vaccine coming on stream and that will be available to people across the country. But we have seen now more than six million people get the jab and that’s a good thing.
SABRA LANE:
Sure, and sorry Treasurer, the substance of that question, when do you think we’ll reach herd immunity?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I’m not putting a specific date on that. What I’m saying is that we’re trying to get as many people vaccinated as possible…
SABRA LANE:
…is that…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
…bearing in mind some of the constraints that we have.
SABRA LANE:
Yes, and the constraints, is that now because Australia made AstraZeneca the backbone of its vaccine rollout and given this rather conservative advice, that’s what you seem to have just hinted at there, it’s now become a major problem?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, it’s a challenge that other countries are also facing. As you know, we reached an agreement with CSL to make the AstraZeneca vaccine here under licence. No one is understating the challenge here, but we have been very successful in suppressing the virus by following the medical advice that we have again done just yesterday.
SABRA LANE:
Now, the jobs news yesterday was great but wages are still pretty flat. Even the Reserve Bank Governor sounded a little deflated by that yesterday, that businesses aren’t yet prioritising wage rises. What is your advice to workers and bosses about boosting their pay?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, firstly, the Fair Work Commission just made a decision this week to boost the minimum wage by 2.5 per cent and Australia has the highest minimum wage anywhere in the world, according to the OECD. And I note that the Australian Industry Group and other employer groups were asking for a wage increase of just 1.1 per cent…
SABRA LANE:
Sure, but our time is limited.…
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
… so the Fair Work Commission has made a large one and so...
SABRA LANE:
…our time is limited and the Governor yesterday seemed a little bit frustrated.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, what the Governor and the Government are seeking to do is drive more jobs creation, and when you get more job creation you get more competition for labour and when you do that, you get more pressure on wages, upward pressure on wages. So, yesterday’s job numbers were important in a number of respects. The fact that we’ve got 115,000 new jobs being created last month and the unemployment rate coming down to 5.1 per cent and 84,000 jobs being created since the end of JobKeeper, all of that is positive. But the fact that there is now more competition for labour will help put upward pressure on wages over time.
SABRA LANE:
So in short you’re saying be patient?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again that’s what our Budget forecast show, is that wage increases over time, but we’ve also have very low inflation rates…
SABRA LANE:
Sure, but you’re saying be patient.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I’m saying the Government is doing everything we can to get more people into work and, as a result, to get more competition for labour, and that drives wages growth.
SABRA LANE:
Just quickly, Parliament’s passed changes to superannuation allowing accounts to be stapled to workers and follow them for their working careers. Critics say that this will trap millions of people into dud products, including super funds that were criticised by the Banking Royal Commission. What’s your response?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, I would listen to Super Consumers Australia, the body representing the consumers, who say that’s a fantasy, that argument. They actually say that this was very important legislation that will help drive better returns for consumers and lower fees. These are the most significant changes to super, Sabra, since compulsory super came in in 1992. We were able to pass them through the Parliament in the face of fierce opposition from our political opponents, the unions and indeed many of the industry funds and what they’ll do is offer people more choice because they will be able to be able to see the performance of their fund both in terms of fees and returns online. Underperforming funds will be held to account and if they perform below a certain benchmark, they’ll have to inform their members; and if they keep performing under the benchmark, then they won’t be able to take new members and then with respect to the stapling of funds, that was a recommendation of the Productivity Commission and right now there are more than 10 million unwanted and unneeded funds, and many people have low balances in those funds and they get eaten away by the superannuation fees and charges. So, this is all about helping consumers, advancing their interests by getting them lower fees and better returns.
SABRA LANE:
We’re out of time. Thanks, Treasurer.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
My pleasure.