24 March 2020

Interview with Andrew Bolt, Sky News Australia, The Bolt Report

Note

Topics: Coronavirus economic package, business and job seeker support payments

Bolt:

Michael Sukkar, thanks for taking the time.  First of all, these queues.  Do people really need to stand there for hours outside to get help?

Sukkar:

Andrew, great to be with you.  No, in fact we would encourage people, to the greatest extent possible, not to go to their Centrelink office for obvious reasons such as social distancing and others.  For those who are seeking to access payments, who have unfortunately lost their job or who have suffered some circumstance with their work given the coronavirus, we would encourage them to call 132 850, that’s 132 850, between 8 am and 8 pm, Monday to Friday and 9 am to 5 pm on the weekend.  That will enable them to get a reference number that will then enable them to make an application via MyGov.  All they need to do get their reference when they call 132 850 is to have 100 points of ID on hand, I think that we are all familiar with that.  We will document what that 100 points of ID is.  We won’t verify it at that time because of the urgency of the circumstances in front of us, it will be verified later on but we will note that 100 points of ID, you will get a reference number that then enables you to log onto MyGov and immediately access JobSeeker payments of up to $565 per fortnight.  That will kick in immediately and will then entitle you to the first economic stimulus payment of $750 which will be starting in about a week or so’s time from the 31st March.  There after that, from April, you’ll be able to apply for the further $550 Coronavirus Supplement.  Assuming that you have no other income and that you meet all the other requirements, that will mean that between the JobSeeker payment and the Coronavirus Supplement from that day in April, you will be – again, give or take your own circumstances – receiving about $1,100 per fortnight in addition to that previous $750 payment.

The reason that we’ve structured it that way, Andrew, as the Prime Minister has said, there’s no quick fix to this coronavirus pandemic so we’re trying to ensure that support all the way along is provided from the immediate access to the JobSeeker payment, which is a fortnightly payment, to the one off $750 to give you a bit of a kick, and then again, the $550 Coronavirus Supplement, bringing your total fortnightly payments to $1,100.

We are envisaging that this support, for many people, will be required, as the Prime Minister has said, for at least six months.  So, we’re absolutely determined to make sure that we can get people through to the other side as unscathed as possible.  But can I reiterate, call 132 850 and from there, it’s a reasonably efficient process to get that first payment.

Bolt:

No unfortunately of course the MyGov website that they then need to go on to do all the paperwork, that crashed yesterday, it crashed again today.  What’s the story for tomorrow?

Sukkar:

Well, Andrew, I apologise, the Government apologies to people who were unable to get onto MyGov.  There was a set of circumstances between the announcement of the package and these very important support payments and a shutdown, essentially, of entire industries whether it be of hospitality and pubs and clubs and others, which meant that MyGov got overwhelmed.  So, we do apologise for that.  We’re working very hard to make sure that the capacity is there for what is likely to be a surge and we’re confident that those issues have been ironed out.  Can I guarantee that there won’t be any issues in the future?  Of course not.  But MyGov is up and running as we speak.  There have literally been tens of thousands of applications that have already been progressed.

Can I say on the ATO side, which is an agency that I administer, we have ramped up all of our call centres.  I think we’ve now got wait-times down to about eight minutes and we’ve today, for example, received 26,000 calls from people asking questions that would be related to their own tax circumstances and the $66 billion package that we brought out.

So, of course Andrew, we want to make this as easy as possible for people in what are very difficult circumstances so can I apologise once more for…interrupted.

Bolt:

Can I ask one more thing that you’ve done?  Look, it’s unfortunate.  There was a huge surge and it’s a great pity, let’s hope that tomorrow it’s sorted out.  You also said that people can draw on their superannuation savings.  How do they do that?

Sukkar:

That will be available from mid-April, Andrew.  There’s a range of systems that we will need to put in place between now and mid-April to make that possible.  But again, MyGov will be the central source so once you’re familiar with MyGov either through the process that I’ve just described or in the past most people will have had regular access to MyGov, you’ll be able to apply.  So you make the application to the ATO through MyGov and the ATO will then take care of that by putting in the requests with your superannuation fund, who is then required to remit the amount that you’ve requested.  Of course, we’ve said up to $10,000 this financial year and $10,000 next financial year.  If you’ve lost your job, you can therefore access a total of $20,000 but it’s again, a very intuitive application through MyGov, but can I stress that that does not open until mid-April and from that point onwards, people will be able to make that application for $10,000 of their superannuation this financial year and $10,000 next financial year.

Bolt:

Thank you very much for that, Michael Sukkar.  Just to stress, don’t go into those queues.  Stay inside.  Just ring 132 850, that’ll take you through and hopefully that aid will come flowing to you very fast.  Michael Sukkar, thank you so much indeed for your time.

Sukkar:

Wonderful to be with you, Andrew.