NEIL MITCHELL:
I’m talking to the Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, who is the Member for Deakin here in Melbourne. Michael Sukkar, good morning.
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Good morning, Neil. Good to be with you.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Heaven forbid but if this lockdown goes longer than seven days, will you then look at providing direct help for workers?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well, Neil I think the simple answer to that is that we hope that this lockdown is as short as possible and we’ve seen in other states short lockdowns dealt with in an expeditious way. Of course, as you’ve seen throughout the pandemic, as you’ve seen – indeed all of your listeners have seen, Neil – over the last 18 months, as a Government there’s no set and forget policy in relation to any response to the pandemic. Now we’re very hopeful that this is a short lockdown as has been outlined by the State Government…interrupted.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But if it is not, will you look at relief for Victorian workers?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Very clearly, Neil, you make decisions based on the facts in front of you. That’s what we’ve done for 18 months, that’s what we’ll continue to do. We’ve provided $46 billion of support to Victoria, what has dictated that, Neil has been a decision from the Federal Government to make decisions based on the best information at the time. Now that’s a hypothetical question you’re asking me…interrupted.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Of course it is but it’s a realistic one. There is every chance, the way things are going, that we could be in lockdown longer than seven days. I’m not asking you to commit, I’m asking whether you will, if necessary, review the decision and possibly provide relief to Victorian workers if it goes longer than seven days?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
And Neil the answer is of course we will always make decisions based on the facts in front of us.
NEIL MITCHELL:
That’s not an answer, that’s not an answer. Does that mean that there is a review or not?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
It’s a very clear answer, Neil. We will always make decisions…interrupted.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well I must be stupid then. Does that mean there’ll be a review or not?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Neil, we’ll make decisions based on the facts in front of us.
Neil Mitchell:
When?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
We’ve always done that.
NEIL MITCHELL:
How often do you review them?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Neil, on a daily basis. I mean this pandemic…interrupted.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So does that mean that every day you’re looking at the possibility of providing relief to Victorian workers?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well, Neil, in our Budget we outlined a whole lot of support. We described it as our second pandemic Budget. We made it very clear to Australians that we did not believe that we should be declaring ‘mission accomplished’ on Covid‑19 and the reason why we put in place a Budget that did keep the foot on the accelerator, did provide tax cuts, did provide more funding for our health services, was because we always understood that we were in the midst of this virus and, Neil…interrupted.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Why isn’t it possible…we’re in the middle of a virus which means we’re in the middle of a crisis. We’ve got people out there whose businesses are going under, they haven’t got money coming in, they can’t pay the rent. Is it not possible to just be straight enough with them to say ‘look, if necessary, we’ll do something, if it goes on long enough we’ll do something’. Is it not possible to say that rather than lecture me about what’s in the Budget?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well I’m not lecturing you, Neil. What I’m saying to you very clearly is look at our track record. We have always supported Victorians…interrupted.
NEIL MITCHELL:
That’s history. I’m talking about now.
MINISTER SUKKAR:
But history is a great predictor of what the Government is going to do. We’ve always backed Victorians, we’ve provided three times as much economic support as the State Government, $46 billion, more per head than any other state in our country. Neil, I’m just saying, look at our track record…
NEIL MITCHELL:
I understand all of that.
MINISTER SUKKAR:
We’ve always backed Victorians, we’ll continue to back Victorians.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay. If necessary, you’ll continue to back Victorians. Right.
Are you aware of the problem in aged care with federal homes in Victoria, federally controlled aged care facilities?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well what I’m aware of, Neil, is that 100 per cent of aged care facilities in Victoria have been vaccinated and at my last briefing, I think 85 per cent of the population in those aged care centres has been vaccinated because obviously there’s an individual consent process. So everyone has been offered a vaccine and 85 per cent of those residents have received it.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Good.
MINISTER SUKKAR:
So that is good news. About 70,000 doses have been provided to Victorians for aged care workers and 3,000 doses provided for disability care workers so we’re absolutely prioritising that cohort. I just heard, I must admit for the first time, the news that you reported so I literally just heard that, Neil.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So you were not aware that it was only last Friday that federal homes were directed to stop letting people work across the system, only last Friday? The Victorian Government introduced it a year ago.
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well Neil, no, I’m not specifically aware of that. Obviously it’s not my portfolio but I’m…interrupted.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well it’s a worry though, isn’t it?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
I think, very clearly, Neil, there’s a whole lot of protocols that I think we all agreed upon that should be put in place, after particularly the second lockdown in Victoria so it’s certainly something that I’m sure Greg Hunt is addressing.
NEIL MITCHELL:
A bit late. Do you know what supply of the vaccine that we’ve got available?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Neil, we will be providing an additional 170 odd thousands doses to Victoria over the coming week and an additional 90,000 doses to the GP network. So there’s a significant additional bump of doses coming into Victoria which means that we’re very confident that there’ll be…interrupted.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Good. So what’s available? What have we got sitting in the bank, do you know?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
I don’t have that number in front of me, Neil, no.
NEIL MITCHELL:
No, fair enough. So all right, that attack from the Victorian Government. I think in fairness you need to answer that because you’ve been accused of fake empathy or fake sympathy, you’ve been accused of behaving in a disgusting way. What’s your answer to it? You’ve been accused of abandoning Victorian workers.
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Yeah I mean, Neil, when somebody makes those sorts of really incendiary and unhelpful and unfair remarks, your natural instinct is to try and leap up and hit back. We’ve resisted doing that because we think that what Victorians need now is our governments to be working together. Now we’ve made some self‑evident points I think in a calm and rational manner in response to the Victorian Treasurer’s claims. We’ve provided $46 billion of direct support to Victoria, the State Government has provided $13 billion. We’ve provided three times as much so for him to suggest that we’ve abandoned Victoria given that we’ve provided three times as much support, I think is unfair but I don’t want to hit back in the same way because I, like you, Neil, think Victorians don’t want squabbling, they don’t want fighting and they don’t want someone trying to cause distractions which I’m not going to do.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Thank you very much, Michael Sukkar, the Assistant Treasurer.