Danica De Giorgio:
Joining me now live to discuss is the Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar. Assistant Treasurer, thank you for joining us this morning. What are the factors causing this savings boom?
Minister Sukkar:
Well Danica, there’s no doubt that during the pandemic, Australian households bunkered down. There was obviously a range of discretionary areas of spending that Australians were unable to spend on including travel particularly. These numbers that we see today are really a sign of just how important the economic support that the Morrison Government put in place through JobKeeper, HomeBuilder, the cash flow boost and others, to keep people in jobs, to keep businesses going. That then enabled Australians to save more – as you said at the outset, $48 billion in offset accounts, more than $170 billion sitting in other accounts. That’s $220 billion of economic firepower that’s there, it provides a great foundation to continue to support our economic recovery. From a household perspective it’s quite self‑evident that it means more discretionary spending because you’re paying less on your mortgage than you would otherwise with that money sitting in your offset accounts. Extraordinarily difficult times for so many Australians. We’ve come through it together and this data shows that Australian households have come through it in a really resilient fashion and in a way that puts a great foundation to our economic recovery.
Danica De Giorgio:
How long can it last for though particularly in the shadow of Omicron? The shortages we’re seeing now, people can’t go to work because they’re close contacts. Surely it can’t last?
Minister Sukkar:
Well, Danica we have now Omicron over the last six weeks that has seen the evolution of this pandemic. I suppose we’ve all become accustomed over the last two years to seeing different challenges arise. Australia, every time one of those challenges has been put before us, we have overcome it and I’m confident we’ll do so again with Omicron. Your question I think is right in the sense that the only thing that will hold back that economic firepower, that more $220 billion or $48 billion sitting in people’s offset accounts will be confidence and that’s why our plan for economic growth, our plan to continue the economic recovery – unemployment at 4.6 per cent which is a thirteen‑year low – will be so important in ultimately harnessing that economic firepower into 2022. Lots of challenges ahead but Australians should feel proud that we’ve overcome all of them thus far and really our economy is performing as well if not better than virtually every other comparable economy in the world.
Danica De Giorgio:
You walk into a supermarket at the moment and the shelves are bare. There are significant supply chain shortages. What more can be done from the government to fix this?
Minister Sukkar:
We’re working extremely closely with not only our large retailers but all the supply and logistics operators and it’s a huge priority for the government. We’ve, through the national co‑ordination mechanism, been doing so really throughout the entire pandemic. Some important work that has been lead through National Cabinet by the Prime Minister has seen the Queensland and New South Wales governments coming forward with changes to the isolation requirements for workers in that supple and logistics area that is sensible, that is proportionate and just means that fewer workers will be having to isolate if they’re not symptomatic or do not have a household contact with COVID. That will mean that those resources are not being taken away in isolation and we think that will have a positive benefit. As Assistant Treasurer, the Housing Minister and others such as the Treasurer, the Prime Minister and many others are on a daily basis working very closely with all of our large supermarket chains, everyone in the distribution network, to try and ensure that we keep up with some of the spikes in demand that we’re seeing. We’ve all seen through the pandemic that spikes in demand for certain goods occur whenever there’s any level of uncertainty. Obviously, Omicron over the last six weeks has led to some of that but we’ve come through it before and we’re confident that there is resilience in our supply chains that will see us come through it again but it’s an ongoing challenge, Danica, that we are working with industry on a daily basis.
Danica De Giorgio:
Just finally, we are running out of time, but I just want to ask you quickly about the Novak Djokovic saga. Is the Federal Government to blame for all this?
Minister Sukkar:
No, Danica. In the end, we have to dispassionately apply the rules. Whether you’re an international tennis player or whether you’re an ordinary person trying to enter the country, Australian Border Force applies the rules to everybody, we do so dispassionately. I happen to be a big fan of Novak Djokovic, I think he’s an outstanding ornament to tennis but in the end, the rules are the rules. One rule must apply to everybody and that’s the position of the Government and I don’t think Australians would be surprised to see the Morrison Government being appropriately strict on the protection of our borders. We’ve always been that way, we always will be and it’s one rule for all. That is the guiding principle here.
Danica De Giorgio:
Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
Minister Sukkar:
Thanks so much for having me. See you later.