KATIE ALLEN:
Well, good morning, everyone. We’re here in Higgins is Glenferrie Road with Cafe Eden, and I’m delighted to introduce Jed, who is the wonderful owner of Cafe Eden to talk about how he’s been finding it through COVID.
JED HAWKINS:
Yeah, we’re really excited to be back. We’re stoked. The people of Glenferrie, Malvern, are really coming back. And it gives us a really good opportunity to create those connections that, sadly, COVID has made harder. We’re also really thankful that we were able to survive with the help of the federal and local as well as the Victorian government. The JobKeeper payments were for us personally able to keep our culture. If we don’t keep the culture in cafes and that connection with regulars we’d be in trouble. We’re really appreciative of that support. I didn’t think being a small business owner we’d ever need that kind of support, but it was critical for us to survive. And, yeah, we’re excited to be back. The people are happy and we’re ready to rock and roll. Bring on 2022. It should be fun. Yeah, I’d like to, again, thank all the support from all levels of government, particularly the feds. They kept us going through a very challenging and difficult experience. I'll hand over to Katie.
KATIE ALLEN:
Great, thank you. We're down here because Higgins ‑ businesses in Higgins have been doing it tough through COVID. And I’ve been down speaking to Jed through COVID. He’s pivoted his business to making sure he can get coffees out the door for takeaway. He was able to use JobKeeper – I think he said 16 employees actually managed to have JobKeeper, which was just fantastic for them. But right along this Glenferrie Road shopping strip we know that businesses have been doing it tough. That’s why today I’m absolutely delighted about the announcement the Treasurer is going to talk about today, which is the tax cuts which, as a member of the Morrison government, I was very proud to support. And I think it was the first thing I voted on in parliament when I was a new member of parliament. It’s so important. It’s always been important to get taxes down, but so much more important now through COVID and coming out the other side. We want people to get back to business. Businesses like Jed’s are just booming now, and the fact that we’re going to see these significant tax cuts flowing through the economy which means that people can get out and spend and have the confidence to know that business is back, the COVID restrictions have lifted here in Victoria. Gosh, we’ve done it tough. It’s been, you know, rolling lockdowns and we really have been able to bring COVID to its knees because of the COVID vaccine rollout. And I’d just like to give a shutout to the federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt. He’s worked night and day to make sure that we’ve had, you know, an amazing portfolio, really, of vaccines. And the people of Victoria, the people of Australia have stood up, put their arm forward, got that double jab. And we’re going to have some of the highest rates of vaccination in the world. And that is, you know, a real credit to the people of Australia, a real credit to the Morrison government to make sure that that’s been delivered. And we’re now in a great position and we can open up. And I’m so delighted to have the Treasurer, the Honourable Josh Frydenberg, down here with us announcing the impact that the tax cuts that have been legislated are having. We really are. Meaning that billions of dollars are in the pockets of Australians. I think it’s more than $2 billion in the pockets of more than 2 million Victorians ready to spend for Christmas. And I know that businesses in Higgins really need that six‑week lead‑up into the Christmas period. We know that the vaccine rollout has really suppressed mortality figures, so that means that people with all the COVID‑safe dealings that the businesses through COVID had to deal with– making sure that people have got their masks, making sure they’ve got proper distancing, making sure that they’ve got their vaccine passports or vaccine certifications on their iPhones – has been incredibly important. And it’s been wonderful to be able to work with local businesses. But to have the support of the Morrison government, to have the support of people like Josh Frydenberg, who’s been an amazing Treasurer for Australia, to come through what have been some of our darkest hours, really, it’s just fantastic to be at this point in time and to be able to make these amazing tax cut announcement. So thanks. Over to you, Treasurer.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, thanks, very much Katie. Firstly, Jed, thank you for having us here at your wonderful cafe. I can testimony to the fine quality coffee that you have on offer here today. And it’s really great to see the customers coming back through the door and to hear how JobKeeper has been such a practical assistance to you in maintaining your workforce and in getting back on your feet is really pleasing. Indeed, there’s been more than 10,000 businesses in Higgins alone employing more than 30,000 people that have benefited from JobKeeper. And we all remember those images, those pretty confronting images, last year at the start of the pandemic when hundreds of thousands of our fellow Australians were lining up outside Centrelink having lost their job. And there was fear – fear right across the economy – that people not only could lose their job but, indeed, could lose their life savings or, indeed, their homes. And we responded with JobKeeper, which saved the economy and it has saved more than 700,000 jobs and was described by the Governor of the Reserve Bank as a remarkable program. And it immediately restored confidence and it has helped see your unemployment rate not reach the highs of 15 per cent which Treasury were fearing at the start of the pandemic but actually now at a 12‑year low of 4.6 per cent. And it’s a real testament to Jed and many other small businesses right across the country who have kept the faith, who’ve kept their workers on and have now reopened their doors as those vaccination rates have lifted. It’s a great pleasure, too, to be here with my good friend and parliamentary colleague Katie Allen. We’re very fortunate to have people of Katie’s experience in the parliament. She brings a depth of expertise in the medical profession, being a paediatrician, a professor, someone who’s reached the very heights in her field, and has been a great source of advice and counsel for many of us through this pandemic. Katie continues to be an outstanding representative for the people of Higgins. And as you said, today we’re here to talk about the tax relief, the tax relief that we promised the Australian people at the last election, the tax relief that we legislated through the parliament and the tax relief that we have now delivered to the Australian people putting more money into their pockets. More than 11 million Australians have received more than $10 billion in tax relief in the first three months of this financial year. July, August, September has seen more than $10 billion flow to more than 11 million Australians. These are the biggest tax cuts in more than 20 years. And it’s come at a time when people really needed it most, as our economy is recovering and we’re getting over the Delta outbreaks. And so this money will see somebody who earns $60,000 – they may be a nurse, they may be a teacher, they may be someone working in retail – that person will pay $2,160 less tax this year as a result of the tax cuts that we have passed through the parliament. That’s money that will be spent in cafes such as this, that will be spent in retail stores, that could be spent on a domestic or an international holiday and that, indeed, could be spent contributing to a new car or upgrades on the house. Money that people now have in their pockets, encouraging aspiration, rewarding effort and allowing more people to keep more of what they earn. It’s also part of a much broader tax plan that we have legislated, a plan that will see the abolition of the 37 cents in the dollar tax bracket and will see 95 per cent of Australian taxpayers paying a marginal rate of tax of no more than 30 cents in the dollar. That’s really tax reform, and that’s delivering more money into people’s pockets. As you know, at the last election there was a real contrast between the coalition and our political opponents. They were promising $387 billion of higher taxes; we were promising tax cuts. And the Australian people voted for those tax cuts, and we have delivered those tax cuts. Finally, I’m very optimistic and confident about the Australian economy’s prospects in the months and, indeed, in the years ahead. We’ve seen the easing of restrictions as those vaccination rates have hit that 70 and 80 per cent threshold. And we’ve seen as a result businesses reopen and people get back to work. We’ve seen this week consumer confidence rise again. Seven out of the last eight weeks consumer confidence has lifted. We know that job ads are 30 per cent higher than they were at the start of the pandemic. And we’ve seen our AAA credit rating reaffirmed by the three leading credit rating agencies. Australia is one of only nine countries in the world to have that AAA credit rating from those three leading credit rating agencies. And the thing that matters most to so many Australians is job security. And to see our unemployment rate today at a 12‑year low after the first recession, the COVID recession, in nearly 30 years, is a testament to the resilience of our economy. In the 1980s and the 1990s recessions it took between eight and 10 years for the unemployment rate to get back to where it was. This time around it’s taken just over a year as the economy has bounced back strongly, as the Morrison government has provided strong economic support, and as businesses such as these have got back on their feet. Are there any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Just about walking down Glenferrie Road today, how was it to see all the businesses back open again, people out and about? It must have been a nice feeling.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely terrific. And there’s a real lift in the air. People are optimistic again. People are feeling confident. People are shopping. People are spending what they’ve saved over the course of this pandemic. As Katie and I know, people in Melbourne and Victoria have done it particularly tough – as we all know, the longest lockdown of any city in the world. And, as Patrick McGorry has talked about, the shadow pandemic, let’s not forget the impact that it has had beyond the economy itself. And so to see the restrictions eased, to see people get back to work, to see businesses reopen, to see kids back in school is really, really pleasing. And, of course, we want to ensure that lockdowns become a thing of the past. We want to ensure that this is now the trajectory for Victoria and for Australia going forward.
JOURNALIST:
And do you expect it to continue to keep rising heading into Christmas with Christmas spending and that sort of thing?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, certainly we’re seeing some very positive economic data. You obviously understand that we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. This is the first recession that this country has had in nearly 30 years. It’s a once‑in‑ a‑century pandemic, it’s the greatest economic shock since the Great Depression. All of that is real. And as Katie knows with her health experience, you never know what’s around the corner. And we have obviously seen a big hit to the economy with the Delta variant, but we’re hopeful that now with the vaccination rates at those record highs that we can actually see the economy remain open for the foreseeable future.
JOURNALIST:
I’ve got to ask ‑ is your support for Tim Smith waning considering he came and spoke out yesterday and his state counterparts seemed to have turned on him a little bit?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, look, Tim obviously, by his own admission, has done something which has been unacceptable – getting behind the wheel after drinking too much. It’s something that’s dangerous and it’s something that is unacceptable. That being said, he now needs to take the time to reflect on his own position, a bit of soul‑searching. He needs to reflect on the words of his state leader, Matthew Guy, and obviously make a decision about his own future in the coming weeks.
JOURNALIST:
Are you surprised that Tony Abbott threw his support behind him, he’s offering to right references for Tim? What are your thoughts on that?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, look, Tony Abbott’s been a good friend and supporter of Tim, like many of us have and, indeed, you know, continue to, you know, support the work that he does in his local community. I mean, it’s important work that he was elected to do in his local community, and he’s got to continue to serve that community. But as for his future career prospects and making decisions, they are matters for him.
JOURNALIST:
Thank you.