Peter Stefanovic:
Joining us live now is the Federal Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar. Good to see you, Michael, I appreciate your time. Just want to get your thoughts on Stuart Roberts’ claims yesterday that the National Plan is not set in stone. Is the plan and its targets locked in or not?
Minister Sukkar:
Well, Pete, there’s no doubt that the parameters of the plan being vaccination rates hitting 70 per cent leading to fewer restrictions and then vaccination rates, once they reach 80 per cent meaning state wide lockdowns and a whole host of other more severe restrictions will no longer be necessary, is very clear in the Doherty modelling which has then been adopted by the National Plan. In the end, the National Cabinet and obviously the Prime Minister and the Premiers and Chief Ministers – at that level – have these discussions. But as far as I’m concerned, the parameters of the National Plan are very clear and that is once we hit 80 per cent – particularly as a Victorian – state wide lockdowns will no longer be required. That’s what the Doherty Institute has said and I think all Australians are very much hanging onto the hope that that National Plan provides.
Peter Stefanovic:
Can the plan and its targets shift?
Minister Sukkar:
Well Pete, as I said, the parameters of the plan being once we hit vaccination rates of 70 per cent, once we hit vaccination rates of 80 per cent, that doesn’t change. Those parameters are there, that is what the Doherty modelling says.
Peter Stefanovic:
So you can’t see any reason why they would change?
Minister Sukkar:
A lot of the detail hangs off that though, Pete, but as far as what the Doherty Institute has said, I think it’s very clear. Once we hit 80 per cent vaccination thresholds, those very hard state wide lockdowns are no longer going to be required – very clear. I think all Australians are very hopeful of that plan – which the Prime Minister has put forward – being adhered to by all states and territories.
Peter Stefanovic:
Should all internal borders then open up once we hit 80 per cent double dose?
Minister Sukkar:
Well it would be my preference, absolutely, that internal borders are open. Australians, I think up until very recently, would have felt as though the idea of internal borders was something that we were unaccustomed to. Yes, we’ve done our bit, we’ve followed the rules. I think we now all understand internal borders and what they mean due to the pandemic but we’re all Australians and we’ve all got family, not all, but many Australians have family in other states and territories. We are all Australians after all and we need to get back to a position where we can all travel around our own country freely. So it would absolutely be my view and my absolute preference that that’s the case.
Peter Stefanovic:
So when the Tasmanian Premier says he doesn’t want to do it until 90 per cent double dose vaccination targets, what do you say to that? Is that disappointing?
Minister Sukkar:
Well my message is the same regardless of who the Premier is and which side of the political divide they sit on. The National Plan that was agreed upon, I want to see adhered to. Now in the end, I don’t sit around that National Cabinet table, the Prime Minister does on behalf of the Government so he is the person that will have these discussions. My preference and I think the preference of my constituents, the preferences of Australians is once we reach those targets that those very severe restrictions should stop.
Peter Stefanovic:
JobKeeper has been described as the most irresponsible and reckless spending program ever undertaken by government anywhere. That’s just one critic. Now there’s no doubt it was helpful to thousands of businesses around Australia, but it wasn’t perfect was it?
Minister Sukkar:
Well that statement is an absolute kick in the guts to the 3.8 million Australians in the more than 1 million businesses who used JobKeeper as a lifeline. When we were staring down the economic abys, the RBA has said that JobKeeper saved 700,000 jobs. So those sorts of statements, I think are an affront to the 3.8 million Australians who relied on JobKeeper at the time of particularly that first lockdown when people were literally unable to work. The evidence is very clear on JobKeeper, Pete. It is probably the most successful Commonwealth program ever put in place, the largest of its size, saved 700,000 jobs. Treasury was saying that unemployment could reach 15 per cent. JobKeeper saved those jobs. 98 per cent of JobKeeper recipient businesses were small or medium businesses. In the end, anybody who criticises JobKeeper now – just like the Labor Party are very conveniently doing – are saying to those 3.8 million Australians whose jobs were saved and whose livelihood was provided by JobKeeper, are saying that it now shouldn’t have happened, I think is quite an extraordinary thing to suggest and the 700,000 jobs that were saved were absolutely the key reason for JobKeeper’s existence.
Peter Stefanovic:
But has it been rorted by businesses who then turned a profit and now won’t pay money back?
Minister Sukkar:
No it hasn’t been rorted. The program was very strict. The program at first instance knocked back about $800 million worth of applications to JobKeeper because the applicants were not able to qualify for the JobKeeper premise. So $800 million of applicants were knocked back. We now have a program where we are, for companies that made honest mistakes, we are clawing back $290 million where they made honest mistakes. That’s more than $1 billion where the parameters of the program were put in place in such a way to make sure they went to the businesses that need it. Those in the Labor Party who are saying now that we should have a clawback, I mean Catherine King on Q&A a little while ago suggested that the Labor Party’s policy would seek to claw these payments back, will claw these payments back from – as I said – predominately small or medium businesses, I think is quite extraordinary. The Labor Party need to front up. They supported JobKeeper at the beginning, they then said it should be extended. They’re now saying it’s a waste. As is typical with this Opposition they change their tune depending on the day. We know that JobKeeper was an extraordinary program. It supported 3.8 million Australians, saved 700,000 jobs and we are very proud of that program and I think it’s quite extraordinary what the Labor Party are suggesting now that they would seek to claw that money back from small and medium Australian businesses.
Peter Stefanovic:
Just finally, just casting your eyes to state politics in Victoria. Do the Libs need a leadership change?
Minister Sukkar:
Pete, I’m not going to engage in that. Those are matters for the state parliamentary party.
Peter Stefanovic:
Michael Sukkar, appreciate your time. Talk to you soon.
Minister Sukkar:
Good on you, Pete. Thanks so much.