Media Releases
Interview with Leigh Sales, 7.30
8 October 2020
LEIGH SALES: Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined me a short time ago from Parliament House. Prime Minister, thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Leigh.
SALES: People are still very anxious and tentative because of coronavirus and because of the layoffs we've seen, what happens to your economic recovery plan if people go, oh, thanks, I'll save the tax cut in case I lose my job and businesses go, well, no way am I hiring or expanding in this environment?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is why we've designed the budget the way we have, Leigh, and this is why we've done it at such a scale, we're dealing with an enormous challenge when it comes to the coronavirus recession and the pandemic that caused it. And that's why we've targeted the measures to those particularly on low and middle incomes, because we know that they are more likely to spend it. Now we'd never tell an Australian how to spend their own money. It's for their own decision. But the way we've designed and targeted these measures has been to ensure that there's the right incentives to do just that. And particularly for businesses as well. I mean, the investment allowance opportunities are through what we've put in the Budget are quite significant, but they all are designed about bringing a whole range of decisions forwards, whether it's bringing forward the tax cuts or bringing forward investment decisions by businesses or bringing forward their decision to hire, bringing forward decisions to get infrastructure moving. That is what fills the gap that we're seeking to do with this budget and then build for the future.
SALES: On the point about targeting low and middle income earners because they'll spend, wouldn't the most guaranteed way to do that be to keep JobSeeker at its doubled rate because on the regular rate, people are below the poverty line. So you give them an extra $40 a day and they will definitely spend that on essentials.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, JobSeeker is already at elevated levels and it will be maintained at those elevated levels-
SALES: It’s going off though.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've got those arrangements for the end of the year, and I've made it pretty clear that beyond that period of time that we'd be leaning into seeing some form of extension of that when we have a better understanding of where things are at later in the year. I mean, JobSeeker was doubled during the course of the most vicious parts of the pandemic and those more difficult parts have also been more recently in Victoria, JobKeeper was in place. And now we're changing gear in our recovery. And we're seeing that happen right before us. We're seeing more businesses coming back online. We're seeing more jobs come back in. 60 per cent of those jobs that have come back in recent months have actually been for women. And we welcome that. So the economy is coming back, but it's still got a long way to go. And this budget will give it the important boost for now, but also building it back for the future.
SALES: A big part of your budget is aimed at creating new jobs, a million of them you're hoping for, but there's no additional funding for childcare. Who do you think's going to look after the children of the new workers?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there's $9 Billion for childcare, Leigh-
SALES: No additional funding for childcare.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have put significant amounts during the course of this COVID recession to ensure that the childcare operators have been able to come through the recession-
SALES: No, no, I'm talking about you want to create a million new jobs. Where are those workers going to put their kids?
PRIME MINISTER: Well 85, there's an 85 per cent rebate for low and middle income earners. And when we had this reform first introduced, Leigh, we saw the participation rate for women in the economy reach record levels-
SALES: Why do you assume I'm talking about women? Men are parents too, they’re 50 per cent responsible.
PRIME MINISTER: What I'm telling you, Leigh is- sorry, I'll let you finish.
SALES: Men are responsible for childcare as well. You've pivoted to talking about women, but men should be 50 per cent responsible for childcare too.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm not disagreeing with that, Leigh. What I'm saying is that when we put the reforms of childcare in place, what we saw is not just women's participation soar. We also saw the men's participation rate and the overall participation rate in the economy also increase. So the reforms we put into childcare had their desired effect. And we're now continuing on with those settings. I mean, now under childcare, there's no cap. I mean, 85 per cent of what low and middle income - particularly low income people - are able to access gives them an 85 per cent rebate. These were significant changes when we introduced them and those changes produced some really good results.
SALES: Prime Minister, you ask anyone who tries to get a childcare place for their child and they'll tell you, it's really difficult and you go on a waiting list. You put another million more people into the workforce, it's going to be increasingly hard.
PRIME MINISTER: Well Leigh we've seen a million people come out of the workforce and we're trying to get them back. And so we're talking about an economy getting back and recovering the lost ground that we've had. And those, that childcare system was supporting that workforce before we hit this COVID recession with record levels of participation in the economy. And we also saw fee levels actually fall by just over three per cent as a result of the reforms we put in place. But Leigh if you're suggesting that we should have free childcare for everybody well that's not something we're proposing. One of the key responses that we've been able to put in place to this COVID recession is we haven't baked in long term spending. It's temporary and it's targeted and 90 per cent of the additional spending in this budget is in these two years. We saw the problems that have happened before when people bake spending in over a decade. That's not a way to run an economy.
SALES: Australian debt will be at $1 trillion in a few years. There's no prospect of a surplus on the horizon to start paying that down. That's okay while interest rates are low, but even if rates go up by only 1 per cent and they almost certainly will before all of that debt is paid off, that's going to add a stupendous amount of money to what Australians owe. Are we about to see the first generation of Australians have lower living standards than their parents?
PRIME MINISTER: No I don't believe so Leigh. Had we not acted in the way that we have and I'm not sure what the alternative is that others are suggesting, but had we not acted in the way we had, we would have seen a generation go out of work and spend a lifetime on welfare for many of them. I know for a fact Leigh, I used to be the Social Services Minister. When you have Australians, particularly young Australians, go out of work when they're young and they don't get back into a job, their risk of spending a lifetime on welfare actually increases. And that's why we've acted so quickly and in this budget with the hiring credit to ensure that we're avoiding those outcomes. But it's not just that, it's 340,000 training places. It's 29,000 additional university places next year. It's 100,000 additional apprenticeships. And these apprenticeships and these training places and the university places and the short courses, they apply to all ages. There'll be many Australians who will be changing course as a result of this recession. And that support is there for them to achieve that.
SALES: Prime Minister, I'd like to spend quite a bit of time tonight talking about aged care. Three quarters of the COVID-19 deaths have been in this country in aged care facilities. That's 673 people. Those facilities are the responsibility of the federal government. In the past, gastro and flu epidemics have ripped through aged care facilities. We knew from Newmarch House in April how horrific coronavirus in aged care care could be. How did the federal government fail so comprehensively to prevent this tragedy?
PRIME MINISTER: Well Leigh first of all, on a couple of points, the Commonwealth government put in $1.5 billion extra in support to deal with everything from workforce support to PPE and training and equipment to assist the aged care sector as it dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. What we saw in particular-
SALES: And there are still-
PRIME MINISTER: Leigh, if you can just let me finish, if you could just let me finish, It's a big question.
SALES: As long as you address the question I'm very happy for you to finish.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I am talking about what we've been doing to address the COVID-19 pandemic in aged care-
SALES: I'm asking why you've failed.
PRIME MINISTER: Well Leigh, I don't agree with your assessment. What I'm saying is that in aged care, what we have seen is the community transmission, in particular that occurred in Victoria, find its way into aged care facilities. But in comparison to what we've seen around the world, 8 per cent of Australia's aged care facilities had COVID-19 cases. Now, that compares to 56 per cent in the United Kingdom. We have acted. There have been half a dozen cases where I'd agree that the failings were acute, but they were not system wide. In the vast majority of aged care facilities what we saw is the system actually deal with the pandemic and prevent the horrific results that were seen all around the rest of the world-
SALES: Still 673 people is still a terrible result. You're pointing out the steps that you've taken since all of this happened. They've been done in reaction.
PRIME MINISTER: No, that was during what was happening.
SALES: They've been done during what was happening in an ad hoc kind of way because you've had to respond in reaction to the crisis. The Royal Commission finds-
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t agree with that, Leigh-
SALES: The royal commission finds, I'm quoting from the royal commission. It finds that part of the problem with aged care is that continually making band-aid fixes on the run means we have not been able to resolve the underlying problems with a system that has failed to provide the Australian community with the assurance of quality and safety in aged care that it expects.
PRIME MINISTER: That's why I called the Royal Commission. I called the Royal Commission because I've been aware for some time of the serious needs that are there and we've got an ageing population and more and more people demanding appropriately services in aged care and particularly in residential aged care, that the needs are far more acute. This is not something that has just happened in the past couple of years. This has been something that has been transitioning now for over a decade and beyond which the Royal Commission has also acknowledged. That's why I called the Royal Commission-
SALES: Prime Minister on the point of you calling it. Sorry to interrupt you.
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry I'll let you go again.
SALES: On the point of you calling the Royal Commission, since 1997 there have been 18 reports or inquiries into aged care. 12 in the past three years alone. Time after time in these reports, we hear of neglect, indifference, malnutrition, festering wounds, a lack of respect for human dignity. Isn't the only conclusion a rational person can draw from all of that, that over the years our political leaders have not cared enough about the elderly to stop the buck passing and to somehow end this sustained political neglect.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think that's a very unkind assessment.
SALES: 18 reports.
PRIME MINISTER: The challenges in aged care are real. And in aged care, funding increases every year by a billion dollars and then the needs become more acute. It's a challenging environment and the workforce training is continuing to increase. But the challenges continue to arise. And what we're committed to do is respond to this Royal Commission of the aged care enquiry, as we said last night, and we will do that properly when we get those recommendations. We have already responded to the recommendations they have made. One of the most important recommendations they've been making is about in aged care. Now, since we've been in government, we have more than tripled the number of in-home aged care places that are available in this Budget alone, 23,000 additional, the single largest increase in in-home aged care that has been done on any one occasion. Now, there’s 185,000 in-home aged care places now, there were just over 60,000 when we came to government. 97 per cent of people who are waiting for an aged care place are already either on some form of in-home aged care or receiving other in-home assistance. So I'm not disputing that the nature of the challenge, Leigh, but I'm saying that it's a huge challenge-
SALES: But everyone knew. We've been hearing this for years Prime Minister. We've been hearing this sort of stuff for years and we get the same reports out of aged care of neglect and horror.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's a difficult challenge, Leigh, and that's why we continue to spend more on it and we continue to learn more about how we can improve in this area. Now, we've all had our own experiences with age. Clearly, we've all had to go through those difficult decisions. I mean, and I've got to say, the aged care experience that fortunately my family has had was it was a positive one. But the needs are greater when people are going into residential aged care. And that's why the transition is to people going into in-home aged care. That is an important shift and it's a shift that we have supported. I'm not denying the challenge, Leigh. The challenge is great and the investments are being made and the commitment is there from me and my government to address the royal commission that we, in fact, called.
SALES: Last week the report of the royal commission into aged care, specifically looking at the pandemic, noted that despite the Newmarch House outbreak in Sydney in April, causing 17 deaths, and I quote, It is unclear whether the lessons learnt from those outbreaks were shared widely before community transmission put people living and working in aged care in Victoria at risk. How is that possible?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the lessons from Newmarch were in many different areas, and they were applied as we sought to deal with what was the significant community outbreak-
SALES: I just said they weren't shared widely. They weren't shared widely, the royal commission found.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Leigh I was there and I know what came out, we commissioned those reports into Newmarch and the lessons from - in particular in terms of transferring of residents are dealing with communications and many of the other issues that were identified in those reports - were being put into practise by the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre. And that was done over many weeks and many months. And it ensured that we avoided a far more severe outcome. As I said, about half a dozen of those centres out of hundreds and hundreds of centres in Victoria were the ones where we had terrible results. But in the vast majority of cases, we were able to avoid that. As I said, Leigh, I think there needs to be acknowledgement in the UK and throughout the rest of the world where you get a community outbreak of the coronavirus, that is being reflected in what has happened not only in aged care, but also in hospitals and other health settings, because the people who work in these settings live in the community. Now, as the coronavirus cases have receded in Victoria, well, we have also seen the number of cases in aged care in Victoria recede. So I think it is not possible to disconnect what happened with the Victorian wave from the impact in the aged care area. That is that would be nonsensical.
SALES: Let's whip around a few other matters. How would you describe Donald Trump's leadership during the past week around his diagnosis of coronavirus?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's not for me to engage in commentary on other world leaders. It's for me to work with them and, and the Australia US relationship couldn't be at a more, in a more strong state. And that's what's important to Australians Leigh. It's not important for me to offer commentary on other political leaders whether it's there or anywhere else.
SALES: He's mocked mask wearing Prime Minister. He's refused to social distance. He's misled the public re his condition. He's exposed his close staff to danger of a potentially fatal illness. He's deliberately downplayed the threat of coronavirus to his nation. 200,000 Americans are dead. You don't think that deserves public condemnation from other world leaders?
PRIME MINISTER: As Australia's Prime Minister it's my job to work with every world leader in Australia's national interests.
SALES: It's also your job to stand up for what's right.
PRIME MINISTER: Leigh, what I'm focussed on is what's right for Australians. And that's why we're putting in place our Australian response to coronavirus. That's why Australia's relative success compared to the rest of the world, whether it's on our economic results or on the health results when compared to the rest of the world, Australia sits in a handful of countries who've been getting the balance right. And I'm pleased with how Australians have responded and enabled us to achieve these results, working together with the states and territories. I think Australia in so many ways has shown the way, not just on ensuring that we've been able to suppress the virus, but ensuring that the impact on our economy has been cushioned. I mean, Australia's economic performance during this time, when you compare a 7 per cent fall in our economy in June to almost 20 per cent, 20 per cent in the United Kingdom, 12.2 per cent in New Zealand. I mean, countries like Sweden, they had bigger impacts on their economy. In Australia, we've been able to get the balance far better than in most places. It's a difficult challenge to address, but we've been doing it better than most.
SALES: Would Australia prefer a Biden presidency to four more years of Trump?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Leigh, you would know that there is an election on in the United States and to ask me to commentate on the candidates in a US election, that's a bit of an irresponsible question to be frank.
SALES: When the same question was asked of John Howard in 2007 of McCain versus Obama. He said that terrorists in Iraq would be praying for an Obama victory. There is precedent, actually, for putting on the record what you think is in Australia's best interests.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what's in Australia's best interests is that we have an outstanding relationship with the United States and we have one. And I'm confident that I'll be able to pursue that relationship with ever whom the people of the United States choose to elect. I think I've demonstrated that with leaders from around the world of various different political persuasions because I focus on Australia's national interest. I don't get involved in the politics of other countries, Leigh. And so I don't commentate on the politics of other countries.
SALES: Prime Minister, can I ask you to level with the Australian public? Has this country been through the worst or is the worst yet to come?
PRIME MINISTER: I hope we have, Leigh. That's the honest answer. But this is an uncertain time. If we continue to manage the suppression of the virus in the way that we have, then I think we can have greater hope that that indeed is the case. And I think Australia, as I just said, has had compared to the rest of the world much better results. But we need to keep that up. The COVID-19 virus hasn't gone anywhere. It's still there. There is no vaccine at this point. And we hope that one will be able to be established and prove successful. And we've made the provision to ensure that all Australians would benefit from that should it be successful and go through the trials. But we need to keep the habit of the COVIDSafe behaviours. We need to keep the habit and strengthen our public health systems to deal with any outbreaks. But we can't shut Australia away either internally or otherwise. We need to ensure that we get these jobs back. And that's what last night's budget was about, a recovery plan for the COVID-19 recession and to build our economy, the future. Getting those jobs back, getting those investments happening, getting the businesses opening and moving forward. And then moving on to the big challenges like ensuring that our manufacturing industries, particularly advanced manufacturing and we can establish a new future there over the next decade. They're getting the energy costs that are low and that are affordable and lower emissions and reliable to drive the industries and the jobs that are needed.
SALES: Prime Minister, thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot Leigh. Good to be with you.
Interview with Paul Murray, Sky News
8 October 2020
PRIME MINISTER: The success criteria is more jobs and businesses employing more people. Businesses responding to what we've put in this budget, which is a recovery plan. It's a recovery plan for their businesses, a recovery plan for people's livelihoods. And an enormous part of what this budget does is seeks to bring forward decisions that we're keen for people to make, you know, bring forward the tax cut so people can bring forward spending decisions that they're going to make. We want to bring forward the investments that businesses are going to put in place with this new, very large investment allowance. And we're going to bring forward what we want to see people do in terms of the hiring decisions they're making as businesses with the JobMaker hiring credit. So there's a lot of bring forward and plans, bring forward the infrastructure investments, some $7.5 Billion extra we'd put in this programme to have like Dunheved Road, which you'd know out there in western Sydney and a range of other important projects, Mulgoa Road and others. These are important bring forwards that will get the economy moving forward. And when that happens, then if people get into jobs, people get that confidence that businesses are moving forward again. I mean, 8 out of 10 jobs, you know this, your viewers know this, 8 out of 10 jobs are in the private sector. And so that's what has to go forward. 8 out of 10 jobs aren't in the public sector. They're in the private sector by people who risk their own money and employ people. And they believe in their fellow Australians to give them a job. And that's what we have to get going again. And so far, 760,000 jobs have come back that were either lost or reduced to zero hours. And and we've seen, of the jobs that came back, some 60 per cent of those were actually for women. So that's that's good news because they're, women lost a lot of jobs, in particular during the course of the COVID recession. And of course, when we put JobKeeper in all those things in place, as Treasury told us we prevented another 700,000 people becoming unemployed. So what we've done so far as has had the effect, but it's still been a big blow Paul. It's I mean, this COVID recession is a big hit to everyone. But, you know, Australia is faring so much better than most of the other countries around the world. We're in a very small handful of countries that are managing to cushion the blow like we have.
PAUL MURRAY: Which gives us the advantage to really just start to unblock the pipe and, you know, I'd liked it when you were Treasurer and I've advocated it since you've been Prime Minister about that asset write off, which was pretty good the first time it got announced. But now basically you could run off anything that you buy for your business. And that means the only way to get that used to be able to go and physically buy something. And it doesn't matter if you're a bloke who's running a business or a woman running a business. This sort of gendered stuff about the budget, I'll get to in a second because I think it's garbage, but the whole point is that if you are a worker, male, female, gay, straight, black, white, brindle, you're going to get a tax cut. And if you run a business, gay, straight, young, thin, fat, whatever, you're going to be able to go and buy something for your business and write it all off on tax.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's right, in this year. And better than that, the losses that you might make this year and most businesses will be in that situation, many businesses will be in that situation through no fault of their own. But basically, the customers and the business went away because of what has happened with COVID-19. Now, normally, what you'd have to do is you would have to wait several years if you can get through to that when you're making a profit again so you can write that loss off against that future income. We're saying no no, you can write that loss off this year, your COVID loss against the tax that you paid a couple of years ago. And that means you can get a rebate through your tax return, which means you can invest it either back into your business or it might help you with the cash flow. You need to keep people in work. But again Paul it's about bringing forward decisions, things that might have been put off for a couple of years because of a lack of confidence or how they were seeing things. This is saying, let's go, let's get through this. And we're backing people who are going to make those decisions and the whole country will benefit from them doing it. The government will benefit, obviously, because people will be in jobs and paying taxes, businesses will be making money and paying taxes. And that means we can keep all the other parts of the programme going as well. So it is a massive vote of confidence in Australians who are going to have a go.
MURRAY: I remember way back when they have one for yourself, one for the country about baby bonuses. But when it comes to tax cuts, there are people who obviously have bills that always rack up. But is there a scenario here where you need to spend a dollar for yourself and a dollar for the country?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, of course, we'd like people to be spending it in the economy, but, you know, I feel very strongly about this Paul and particularly when it comes to tax cuts. A tax cut is not something the government has spent. The Labor Party talks about it that way. We've spent this much money on tax cuts. No, you haven't. Well, I never give a tax cut. But what does happen is it just says, you know, that money you earned, it might have been in your small business or the wage you got. You got to keep more of that. So it's your money. You earned it. And I would never be so, so rude to say to any Australian how they should spend their own money. That's their business. But the way we've targeted these measures and it is a very targeted plan, we've targeted those on low and middle incomes, particularly those on incomes less than $90,000, that's where the majority of the money is going, because that's where the majority of the taxpayers are. You know, we know that in those income ranges, the people are more likely to spend it than they are to save it because they've got many commitments. They've got kids, they have their challenges that they're facing each and every day. And this will help them get through and make life just that, just that little bit easier because it's really tough.
MURRAY: For my sins I watched a little bit of channel two last night and the best that they could throw at the Treasurer was word games about what you said during the GFC, versus what you said now. Means you've probably got a pretty good budget if they can't throw any numbers back at the Treasurer in instant analysis. For those who want to say, you know, something happened 10 years ago versus now, how is this different than the GFC? And how is this response better than the one that obviously we all criticised 10 years ago?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah. Look, I stand by all those comments. I mean, first of all, I think people facing challenges now probably couldn't care less what happened 10 years ago. They're more worried about what's happening right now, which is what we're concerned about. But I mean, what the Labor Party taught everybody when the GFC happened is what not to do in a crisis. And they made every mistake you could possibly make. And the key mistakes they made is it wasn't targeted. It just sprayed everywhere. I mean, cheques went to dead people. It was not temporary. I mean, they, when we came to government, they were still trying to build school halls, almost six years after the GFC actually happened. And they built school halls in places where the schools actually closed down. This was a stimulus programme where they just created new programmes that they couldn't implement and they baked in spending for years and years and years to come, which has been one of the big challenges that we've had in getting the budget back into balance before we hit this crisis. So Cash for Clunkers and I said today in the parliament, the last time that the Labor Party put money into housing, they put it into people's roofs and they caught on fire with the programmes that they ran. So Labor showed everyone how you don't do it. I think, you know, they had not been those those those instances because the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg and I and Mathias Cormann and the whole team we've been very careful to to engage in what is, I know, a very big investment to get Australia out of this COVID recession. But we've done that in a way that's targeted 90 per cent of the additional spending that's happening in this budget happens this year. Next year. Done. Okay. It doesn't run for five years. It's not used as an opportunity to bulk up all sorts of public spending for years and years to come, employing more and more public servants. That's not what this is. We know we need to act now. I mean, take, for example, the funding that we're putting in some $2 Billion into road safety and the $1 Billion we're putting into local governments to get all those little projects done right around the shires, whether they're the shires out of the bush or my own Shire down in southern Sydney. These projects are use it or lose it money. It's there to happen now. We don't want that money spent five years from now, six years from now. That's not the plan. The plan is to make it happen now because they're the things we need to bring forward to create the jobs and the confidence right now.
MURRAY: I know that you can't pick a favourite, but I'll make you do it anyway, which is regardless of the headlines, regardless of the big numbers. What is one of the decisions that have been made in this budget that you are genuinely pleased you were able to get through? It seems that things like the changes about superannuation was something that Josh was talking about a lot last night and this morning didn't quite translate to the front pages. But is there a pet project you've got in this budget?
PRIME MINISTER: Look there are so many things in this budget Paul. I mean, I always do get quite moved when we're able to do things in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and by listing these drugs for ovarian cancer. I mean, we all know someone I suspect. ovarian cancer touches so many lives and ends them around the country. And the fact that we can do that in the middle of a COVID-19 recession, I think says a lot about us as Australians, and it says a lot about what we prioritise as a government. Yep. We've got to do all these things which we've talked about - the tax cuts and bring forward investment and all of these things, the infrastructure, that's all true, but the essential services that Australians rely on each and every day. And if you've got ovarian cancer, that is a game changer for you, a drug that costs about $140,000 and if you're not a concession card holder it'll cost you around $41 and around $6.60 if you have the concession card. I mean that's important. The other one, I mean, there's about $100 Million for veterans. And I know that will be really important to you, Paul, and continue to deal with the challenges there, the money we're putting into mental health. All of this is continuing to make a big difference in people's lives each and every day. So, look, I could mention many more programmes, but, you know, these are the things you've got to keep doing as a government. You've got to walk and chew gum at the same time. You've got to fight the virus. You've got to fight this recession. You've got to create the jobs. And then you've got to give people confidence to go out there and hit it again. And I I thought about it again last night, and Josh and I were talking yesterday morning. We wanted people to wake up this morning and just know this government's got our back. We know this is a big commitment, but, you know, the alternative would have been just devastating. You can't let people fall out of work and not get back into jobs. We would pay for that for a generation, a lost generation, in fact. And that's why we're so keen to see young people get back into work, because I know well, our Social Service Minister probably told you many times Paul, but we know that if a young person starts their working age life on welfare, they are more likely to stay on it than any other person who goes onto a welfare payment. And I don't want Australians, young Australians to do that. I want them to have a fulfilled life where they have a job, where they have choices, where they can make a contribution. Where they can participate and you get to do that with a job. And that's what this budget's about.
MURRAY: Well, Prime Minister, we had no doubt today that the government's got our back and you certainly know many of the people watching this show and myself have got yours. Thank you also about the ovarian cancer stuff. It's how we lost my wife's mum, beautiful Noni 10 years ago, so well and truly something that we noticed in the budget and plenty of families who are fighting that battle. There's lots of those things that go onto the PBS that I always think are the great mark of our country, the safety net and trying to make those drugs as affordable as possible.
PRIME MINISTER: And Paul that reminds me of another thing in his budget, sorry, and another thing in this budget, which got a lot of publicity for sufferers from thalidomide. We are righting that wrong in this budget. There's some $45 million in this budget to support those who are affected by this. It happened many years ago and they live with it each and every day. And I've met many of the sufferers from that. And we are righting that wrong in this budget. We haven't, you know, made it a big deal about it. But I know it's going to be a big deal to them, and I'm so pleased we're able to do that.
MURRAY: Good man. So, as I say, you know, trillion dollar debt. There'll be people watching. And certainly if we had had this conversation two years ago about what the budget would be in two years, both of us would have gotten no chance. Have we fired every shot? Is this every, every silver bullet’s been fired out of the cannon at once?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've certainly thrown everything at this and we have to add it in this budget, and this is the most important one to to make these investments that we're doing to get Australia out of this COVID recession and to create jobs and and build our economy back for the future. That's certainly the case that we came into this Paul with a balanced budget. Having seen the economy generate 1.5 Million jobs since we were first elected in a triple-A credit rating. And that gave us the firepower to deal with this, whether it was JobKeeper of the start or indeed this budget. And we will continue to deal with the information and deal with the situation as we find it. But in each of these decisions, I think Australians have seen us on every occasion stump up to do what's best for them, their families, for their jobs and their futures, so look we will continue to do what is necessary. But we believe that the plan that we put into this budget will enable Australians to get back up on their feet. I know they're working hard to do that. This is a budget that I think matches the spirit of Australians that they've shown during this very difficult time. And we're meeting their mark. They've said it and, and we will meet it and we'll walk this journey with them.
Interview with Ben Fordham, 2GB
8 October 2020
BEN FORDHAM: The Prime Minister Scott Morrison is on the line this morning. PM, good morning to you.
PRIME MINISTER: G'day Ben.
FORDHAM: Labor says the only language that matters is the language of love.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they would say that. I mean, Ben I used to be an Immigration Minister, as people know. And English is Australia's first language. And for people to get into jobs, for people to be able to be protected in our society, for people to have access to government services and function in the community, having a basic level of English is actually really important. Now the way we're doing this test is as you said, people can still come to Australia. They're on a provisional visa while they're here. They don't have to pass the tests before they come into Australia. But once they get here, they have to make a reasonable effort to learn the language at a basic level. And we don't think that's unreasonable. So it's not stopping anyone from coming. It's saying that once you're here that we will actually support you through the English language classes we already provide to migrants when they come to Australia. And you've gotta have a crack, you've got to have a go to learn English. Now, I know I know that in many communities and that a lack of English language for, particularly for wives well, you know, we know that that can lead to women being put in very vulnerable positions in the workplace, even in the home and domestic situations. Now, that's that's an unhappy fact, but it's a reality. And this is designed to help people be more involved in Australia when they come to Australia and to have those English language skills so they can maximise and fulfil their life in Australia. So I think it's pro migrant, but it's also pro Australia, even more importantly.
FORDHAM: Let's talk about coronavirus. We have three mystery cases in Sydney and we're worried now that Queensland is going to reset the clock as far as travel to Queensland. What would you say to the Queensland premier on that one?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, is she for jobs or not. That's what I'd say as simple as that, she's saying she's all for jobs. Well, you know, being for jobs means you've got to balance the risks that you face, like New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian is. And they're managing to basically keep cases to an incredibly low level. They are doing a great job with their testing and tracing regime and everything they're doing here, dealing with outbreaks, getting New South Wales open, Queensland can do the same thing. I want to see people back in jobs and to give you an example of this. I mean, the number of people have come back into jobs in New South Wales since we hit the tip of that type of recession, a 70 per cent increase. In Queensland, it's 44 per cent. So we need Queenslanders back in jobs. I want to see Queenslanders back in jobs. That's why we've done the hiring credit and that's why we've put the incentive for investment. That's why we bringing forward tax cuts. That's why we're bringing forward infrastructure projects. I want to get Queenslanders and jobs just like I want to get New South Wales people in jobs. But for that, we've got to be open.
FORDHAM: The W.A. Premier Mark McGowan can't escape criticism here because West Australians will be locked out if they live on the East Coast for 12 months, possibly by the time they get in. I spoke to a friend last night called Jess and she's got a baby boy, Frank. Frank hasn't met his grandparents. You've got others missing births, deaths and marriages. And meanwhile, the W.A. Premier, Mark McGowan, was cracking jokes online yesterday about Santa Claus getting a special exemption. Well, what about everyone else who's from Western Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I understand those concerns. Absolutely. My position on these things has been very consistent. While I respect the premiers, I mean, these arrangements had only been in place for health reasons only. And the health reasons have to be clearly stated and they have to be reasonable. And it's up to the premiers to justify those things now. I worked with the Premier of New South Wales and Victoria and South Australia on the New South Wales/Victoria border. I think people understand why that has been there and they've been liberalising that now for some weeks. And we hope to go further in the weeks ahead. But it's all about health. West Australian Premier the other day, I was disappointed to hear him say, that the border seems to be there is some form of economic protectionism to lock Western Australians in so they spend their money there and they don't spend it elsewhere in the country. Well, that's no, that's not a health reason to have a border. I haven't been overly critical of the Western Australian Premier. They will make the decisions to try and deal with how they manage the COVID-19 and they've had a lot of success there. But at the same time, you know, economic protectionism, locking people in the state so they won't spend money in other parts of this country. Well, that's that's not the Australian way.
FORDHAM: We're going to look at this research firm in Brisbane, Ellume, that says it's developed a 15 minute COVID test. They've got $40 million from America but says at the moment they haven't had any bites here.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the medical expert panel is looking at that and many other things. We've seen, you know, quite a lot of false dawns around the world on, you know, miracle tests which enable people to go and do whatever they like. And we've got to be very careful about this Ben. We look at every, we, if this is a viable proposition our medical experts will, of course, look at that with all seriousness and pursue the ones that we believe can make a big difference. So, you know, we're open to all of these things. But at the same time, we've got to be careful. You can't have a drug put out there or a test put out there in the community. It would give people a false sense of security. And we're back where we started. So we'll be careful about it. But we're very open to all of these things. But we've got to do it right.
FORDHAM: Quick one. I know you don't often get asked about bikini's and probably for good reason, but we shared this story yesterday, that's now on the front page of the paper today about a girl called Christy who was in an apartment block swimming pool that she lives in and she's having a swim. A security guard said, no, sorry, you can't go wearing that kind of swimwear. Here was a normal bikini. Now, are we going to head back to the days of the 1950s where inspectors are walking around with measuring tapes? Should Aussie women be allowed to wear what they want within reason when they're having a swim?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, of course, I thought they always could. I wasn't aware that any of that had been constricted. So yeah Ben I'm not aware of this story you're talking about. It's not one that sort of came to my attention that you wouldn't be surprised to learn. I'm surprised that even applies, I tell you what though. I mean, as a father of daughters, I can assure you as they get older, I might apply some dress standards and conditions but that's for families to sort out.
FORDHAM: Oh yeah do tell, do tell.
PRIME MINISTER: They're a bit young yet. It's all good.
FORDHAM: We'll leave that for another day. Thanks so much for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Ben.
Minister for Finance and Senate Leadership
8 October 2020
I am pleased to announce a new Leader and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham will step up as Leader of the Government in the Senate and Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash will become Deputy Leader.
These changes will take effect following the retirement of Minister Mathias Cormann at the end of this month.
Senator Birmingham has served as a Senator since 2007 and has been the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate since 2018.
Senator Cash became a Senator in 2008 and has served as a Minister since 2013.
I am also pleased to announce that Senator Birmingham will be sworn in as our next Minister for Finance at the end of the month. He continue on as Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. I am not planning on making other ministerial changes at that time.
Senators Birmingham and Cash are strong members of my team. They have demonstrated proven leadership over many years in senior cabinet portfolios as well as a capacity to work with senators from all backgrounds to get things done.
Our new leadership team in the Senate will have a clear focus on policies that deliver jobs, investment and growth for Australia.
Nomination of Senator Mathias Cormann for the Position of OECD Secretary-General
8 October 2020
Australia will nominate the Minister for Finance Senator Mathias Cormann as its candidate for Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
This is the most important Australian nomination for a major international body in decades.
As the global economy recovers from COVID-19, the OECD’s role in shaping international economic policy will be more critical than ever.
Key institutions like the OECD will need strong leadership and Senator Cormann is uniquely qualified for this task.
Mathias Cormann has played a central role in economic policy making since his appointment as Finance Minister in September 2013. His financial stewardship helped to position Australia to better withstand the economic shocks of COVID-19 than most other nations. He has made an indispensable contribution to shaping Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These experiences will be invaluable guiding the OECD’s work to help all nations and the global economy to recover from the pandemic.
Senator Cormann has already been an influential contributor in regional and global economic institutions, having attended every G20 Leaders’ Meeting since 2014 and numerous G20 Finance Ministers’, IMF and World Bank meetings over this period.
Over the last seven years, Senator Cormann has worked with many OECD leaders and dozens of Treasury, Finance and Trade Minister counterparts from developed and developing countries.
Senator Cormann will bring a rare perspective to this role, having spent half of his life in Europe and half in the Indo-Pacific.
In addition to understanding the cultures, economic strengths and political dynamics of both regions, Senator Cormann grew up speaking German before pursuing his high school and university studies in French, Flemish and English.
This nomination highlights our determination, signalled in my Lowy speech in October last year, for Australia to take an even more forward-leaning approach to international economic institutions.
As the most successful multicultural country in the world, Australia takes great pride in the story of Mathias Cormann. When he arrived in Australia 25 years ago, he brought a deep belief in Australia as a place of untold opportunity.
He embodies our national belief that ‘if you have a go, you get a go’.
Senator Cormann will step down from the Ministry and the Senate on 30 October 2020 before being formally nominated. Nominations for the OECD role close at the end of October, with interviews and intensive consultations commencing thereafter, with an outcome expected in the first part of 2021.
Until that time, Senator Cormann’s entire focus will be on continuing to deliver for Australians as it has been since he was elected.
Mathias has been a dear friend, a trusted colleague, and a source of great counsel. He has been a great servant of Western Australia and the country.
Australia will throw its full support behind his nomination as he embarks on his next stage. I also wish his wife Hayley and his children the very best for the future, particularly after managing the particular difficulties that the families SWestern Australian politicians face with travel and distance.
Interview with Jim Wilson, 2GB
7 October 2020
PRIME MINISTER: Well it’s good to be back Jim.
JIM WILSON: This is very much a big spending Budget. I think in the circumstances, though, you didn't really have any choice?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think that's exactly right. The alternative was far more severe, which would have seen we know already, had we not stepped in with JobKeeper and JobSeeker and the cash flow boost, there would have been 700,000 more people who would've lost their jobs. And so we avoided that through those measures. But many Australians we know did not only lose their job, but all the hours in their job. We've seen 760,000 of those jobs come back, though, over the last few months. So we are making that recovery, we have still got a long way to go. But the Budget is that recovery plan, not just for today and tomorrow, but into the future as well.
WILSON: I suppose the big unknown as far as this pandemic, is actually the Budget being reliant on a vaccine being available and widely administered to the Australian public by late next year? There's just no guarantees on that front.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think this has been overstated. I mean, all Budgets have their assumptions, there are assumptions made about the iron ore price, the met coal price and the thermal coal price and a whole range of things that are made in assumptions that go to a Budget. But those assumptions don't determine whether you're getting a tax cut, they don’t determine whether the Dunheved Road upgrade is going to be done, or the many other infrastructure projects. I mean, all of those things are not dependent on a vaccine being there or not. I mean, the hiring credit, the JobMaker hiring credit, that's going ahead whether there's a vaccine or not. And all the other measures that are in this Budget, tax cuts, investment allowances, businesses, particularly small businesses who've had a devastating blow and will be making losses this year, they would normally have to wait several years if they survive, before they can offset those losses against what they earn in the future. But what we've said now is you can offset it against the better years you had coming into this into this COVID recession. And so you can through your tax, you can, you would get the rebate of that tax paid to you so you can keep people in work or you can invest again in your business and take advantage of those those new investment allowances.
WILSON: The tax cuts, will they be coming- will, eleven million Australians will receive tax cuts. Will they receive those in coming weeks in their pay packet or will it be at the end of the year?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, two things have to happen first. Obviously, it needs support in the parliament for the tax office to be able to move ahead. Then they'll publish the new tax scales and then the accounting software in the employer will be adjusted and then they'll start making the adjustments in people's pay. And I'd expect that that to happen in the weeks and months ahead, depending on the employer. And then there'll also be adjustment at the end of the financial year to ensure that people get every cent that's coming to them, because you'll have some people Jim, who may have been earning less over the earlier part of this year. But when your employer decides how much tax to withhold, they have to do it on the basis of how much you're then getting paid in that fortnight. And it's quite possible that people may be on a lower tax bracket because they were earning less in the early part of the year. So rather than get to the end of the year and us having to chase debts or people getting overpaid and underpaid, the smart way to do this, which is how we've done all of our supports through this pandemic, is to use the normal existing channels for doing this. Otherwise, you can get yourself in a lot of strife like we saw in the last crisis, which taught us everything not to do, under Labor, we're showing how to do it during this crisis.
WILSON: JobKeeper and JobSeekers now if this current crisis continues. Is there flexibility with those dates as far as when they end?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they are as they are now. But I think we've always demonstrated, Jim, we're looking carefully at how the economy is performing, what the global conditions are, how the economy's opening up. I mean, it was last week that the first gear change happened with JobKeeper and with JobSeeker. And we've moved through that period. And what we're finding and what we will continue to find as the economy continues to recover, then people in their jobs won't be dependent on JobKeeper, money from the taxpayer. They'll be getting paid their wage by their employer. The whole point of JobKeeper is to graduate from it and to be able to move forward. And many businesses have just done that. And there are some sectors, obviously, that continue to be significantly affected, but that's taken into account with the way we’ve structured the programme.
WILSON: But the COVID component in JobSeeker is set to end in December. What happens after this time surely can't go back to pre-COVID levels of 40 bucks a day. We know people can't survive on that?
PRIME MINISTER: We want to be able to make that decision closer to the time, Jim, because what we've learnt during the COVID recession is, you know, a lot changes all the time. And we've just made the first change to the supplement, which means people can actually earn $300 a fortnight before they would lose any of their JobSeeker payments. And so that's important earnings if they can have and maintain what their previous income would have been under those former arrangements. So we'll look at that as we get closer to the end of the year, I've already said and lent in pretty heavily. So I think people can expect the supplement to continue and the levels we set it, we will make that decision close to the end of the year when we've got better information because as you said, it's a very uncertain time at the moment. So you want to make a decision based on the best information.
WILSON: Let’s talk about JobMaker and the hiring credit announced last night, you're relying on the fact people and businesses are feeling confident enough to hire more staff. What if they don't?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the good news is, Jim, is more and more businesses are, as I said, 760,000 jobs come back, 760,000. And that's just been in the last couple of months. And that's with Victoria still shut. And as the economy continues to open up and people holiday home, there's $32 billion dollars net that usually goes offshore from Australians travelling overseas. That's not going to happen. They'll be doing that in Australia. They'll be spending their money in Australia. And so this will support the economy to continue to grow. We've got companies that are graduating from JobKeeper and and those finding employment. And the hiring credit is to ensure that they have that incentive to bring forward that decision. The key part of our economic recovery plan, taking back what has been lost, is to be bringing forward. We've brought forward tax cuts from our longer term plan, and we're getting businesses to bring forward their investment plans with the investment allowance, which means they can write off all their capital expenditure in the same year and they can offset their losses against previous tax paid as well. So that's going to bring forward a lot of investment decisions. And we also want them to bring forward their hiring decisions by partnering with them to put people into these jobs. Now, that is in addition to 100,000 additional apprenticeship positions where those wage subsidies exist. And I’ve got to say it also, people may not recall this, but I recall it was one of my Budgets when I was Treasurer. We introduced the ten thousand dollar Restart wage subsidy. Now, that helps eligible job seekers who are aged 50 and over, and it's already helped 50,000 Australians over the age of 50 get into these jobs. And so we already have within the system a range of other supports to get people who are over the age of 35 into work. We've also got the support for adult Australian apprentices.
WILSON: But just on the JobMaker programme, Prime Minister, which is great for young workers. Fantastic. OK, getting off welfare. But older workers. Why is there a cut off for those over 35?
PRIME MINISTER: Because Jim, the biggest impact has been in terms of job losses on people who have been younger. It's been that and women. We've seen a very good bounce back in terms of female employment. 60 per cent of the jobs that have come back in the last few months have actually been women. And that's tremendous because they were the ones who lost the most jobs. And the same has been true for young people. When I was Social Services Minister, Jim, one thing I learnt was that if a young person stays on welfare when they come out of school or they lose a job when they're young, they have a much higher risk of then being conditioned on to welfare and they could stay there for the rest of their life. Now, that is a great waste of human potential.
WILSON: Question from one of our listeners, Prime Minister, Lisa from Ryde here in Sydney. Could you please ask the Prime Minister if the $200 dollar a week to employ young people is available for people with a disability. It would be really good if it was because disabled people want to work as well.
PRIME MINISTER: It doesn't discriminate against people who’ve got a disability. It applies to anybody who falls into that age category and has been offered a job.
WILSON: Ok. Let's talk about the aged care. And we've just had Ian Hensche the aged care advocate on the programme. They're far from happy. They say it doesn't go far enough, in fact. Well, short, 23,000 home care packages available they wanted- they were expecting 66,000 places. You can understand their frustration?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think it's an unrealistic expectation. A couple of points, since we came to government Jim we've tripled, tripled the number of in-home aged care places from 60,000 to more than 180,000. And the latest 23,000 is the single largest increase we've done at any time. And we've been steadily building up those numbers. Now, 97 per cent of people who are right now waiting for a different type of in-home aged care place or an in-home aged care place are already receiving another type of in-home aged care place or other form of in-home support. So people are getting that support and we are making more spaces available. But you can't just turn this on like a tap. There has to be workers trained. There has to be people who can provide those services. I mean, if you just rush the funding into a programme like this, you'll have people who are providing care in people's homes. You'll have implementation problems. You'll have standards of care and quality that would be at risk. The notion that you can just create 60,000 places in in-home in-home aged care overnight is not practical and in fact could be quite dangerous.
WILSON: So could there be an increase in funding as far as aged care? Once the royal commission hands down their report?
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely, and I've made that very clear. There have been two reports, interim reports that have already come from the royal commission. The first one was last year, and we responded to all of those recommendations. And we provided again then additional funding for things like in-home aged care. That was last year. There was also recommendations made about medication in aged care facilities and how that was managed and monitored. And we've responded to those as well. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, we've put $1.5 billion extra into aged care. And that's just in the last six months. And that has dealt with everything from workforce issues to supports for health management controls in these facilities and training. And a vast array of programmes to support residential aged care facilities and the care that's being provided. Now we said in the Budget, Josh said last night there's a royal care royal commission into aged care, when it releases its final report we’ll be making a substantive and comprehensive response then, and that's anticipated to be in next year's Budget.
WILSON: I was up miffed and shook my head at the Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, who labelled it the ‘Morrison recession’. I mean, this is a- we're going through a health crisis. What was the reaction to that?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, look, it's embarrassing for him. I think it demonstrates that he hasn't got the faintest idea what he's talking about. He seems to be the only person in the world who doesn't understand there's been a COVID-19 pandemic. I mean, it's a ridiculous statement. I mean, Australians know, Australians know why we're in this situation. There's been a global pandemic. I mean, a million people have died. Did he not notice? I mean, I think it's quite offensive, forget me, I couldn’t care what he says about me. He says nasty things all the time-
WILSON: Well it’s a COVID recession, let’s cut to the chase?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course it’s a COVID recession, but I'll tell you what. There's going to be a Coalition led recovery from this through the measures that we put in the Budget. That's that's that's what certainly will come as a result of the policies we’ve put in place. But it's all politics Jim. I mean, if he wants to politicise a pandemic, to score some cheap points well, that says more about him than it does about anyone else.
WILSON: Well, it's a big spending Budget. And the shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will get a right of reply on the programme after 5 o'clock. But a big spending Budget. Extraordinary times I figure you had no choice?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's what Australia had to do and we were prepared to do it. And let me make this point. It's quite different what we've done in this crisis to what had happened previously. We said right back in March, we're going to have to respond and we are going to respond. And we did. And promptly and we saved some 700,000 jobs at the time. It was targeted. It was proportional and it was temporary. 90 per cent of the additional spending that you see in this Budget is happening this year and next year. And then it reverts back to the normal levels of funding that we have across programmes. So hospital funding keeps going up. Education funding keeps going up, on all the profiles that we previously agreed before we went into this recession. But the stimulus spending, that's this year and it's next year. What happened last time is it wasn't targeted. I mean, they were still putting money into school halls some five years after the GFC. And many of those schools have actually now closed. I mean, we had pink batts. We had all of that sort of stuff. It wasn't targeted. It wasn't proportional, and it certainly wasn't temporary. They baked in spending for a decade. That's not what we're doing here. We're not repeating their mistakes. We're doing this the right way. Prime Minister, very busy 24 hours. We appreciate your time this afternoon.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks. Who are you tipping for the Grand Final Jim?
WILSON: I’m on the pennies- on the Panthers.
PRIME MINISTER: You’re on the Panthers? Who do you think they’ll play?
WILSON: I think the Panthers, oh gee, who will they play? I reckon they’ll play the Roosters.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah mate I'm with you on that. I mean, that game, that game last weekend was a cracking game.
WILSON: I love how we finish every single chat with a reference to rugby league. How good is that? We love the finals. Good on your prime minister.
PRIME MINISTER: We do, enjoy. Good on you Jim. Cheers.
Interview with Aaron Stevens, LAFM
7 October 2020
AARON STEVENS: PM good morning to you.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Aaron.
STEVENS: Just so much of this Budget relies on a recovery from the health impacts of COVID-19 and a vaccine late next next year. How confident are you that that's actually going to happen?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, none of the measures that are in this Budget are dependent on there being a vaccine next year. There are assumptions that are made in every Budget about everything from resource prices through to other issues like the ones you've mentioned. But the tax cuts come with or without a vaccine. The bring forward for investment allowances with or without a vaccine. But of course, the outlook in terms of where the Australian economy is heading, of course, will be impacted by many things. Both our continued relative success in dealing with the health challenges, but also what's happening with the global economy, and how we're able to open up our economy over the next six to 12 months and, and into the future. There are always uncertainties when you put any Budget together and of course, during what is the most significant and the hardest hitting global recession that we've seen since the Great Depression. Then, of course, it's an uncertain environment. But the information in the Budget is based on the best assessment as we know it right now.
STEVENS: So you do think we'll have a vaccine by late 2021?
PRIME MINISTER: We certainly hope to. And the balance of advice we have currently is that that is a reasonable prospect, but it will obviously be determined by the trials and all the things that we know are variables.
STEVENS: Things like big infrastructure projects obviously, they rely on our health safety going forward?
PRIME MINISTER: They rely on the Government actually doing it, which is what we're going to do. And again, whether it's, you know, it's the Bridgewater Bridge or the Bass Highway upgrades or the Murchison Highway upgrades or the Tasmanian freight rail revitalisation, all of that is going ahead with or without a vaccine. Because these are important parts of our economic plan. See, this Budget is about cushioning the blow. It's also about an economic recovery from COVID-19 by getting things brought forward, whether it's bringing forward the tax cuts, which were part of a longer-term plan. We're bringing that forward. We're bringing forward investment decisions in the private sector with the investment allowance, and the loss carry backs. We're bringing forward hiring decisions through the JobMaker, hiring credit. This is all about getting things happening now, bringing forward those decisions and then having the rebuild plan for our economy over the medium term. And that's everything from energy in particular things like Marinus Link and new technologies. Ensuring we're getting the gas to support our manufacturing industries, the training programmes that we're now putting in place, a great partnership with the Tasmanian Government there and all states and territories through JobTrainer, 12,000 new higher education places for next year. There are longer-term changes that we're making to make our economy stronger.
STEVENS: Marinus Link it’s a key project, will we see funding for Marinus Link?
PRIME MINISTER: Well you will. We're still in the process of working that through with the state government. We've already committed serious dollars as an envelope to deal with a number of quite significant transmission projects, and that is one of them. And we're working through those details. But we've been committed to this for for some period of time now. And I'm pleased that it's making such good progress. And we've got a great partnership with the Premier there. He and I speak about it often, as does Guy Barnett with the, with of course, with Angus Taylor. And it's an important part of our ongoing plan.
STEVENS: Do you have a timeframe you can give us?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, when we're ready to make that announcement, we will.
STEVENS: Okay. Tax cuts. Is it true that people earning under $90,000 won't see those tax tax cuts straight away?
PRIME MINISTER: No, that's not true. I mean, there are a couple of things that always happen when you have tax cuts. They're, first of all, they're backdated to the 1st of July, and providing there's the support of the parliament. Then the tax schedules are then produced by the tax office and then the accountants, and the accounting systems update their software and they they adjust the pay packets of Australians. And that's how it always works with any with any tax change. So that will move, I hope, as quickly as possible.
STEVENS: Okay. Older Australians are feeling left out of this budget, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't agree with that assessment. I mean, what people forget is back in 2017, we actually put the Restart Programme in place. Now, the Restart Programme was where you can receive a $10,000 GST inclusive subsidy for employing someone who's a job seeker aged over 50-years-old for 12 months. What we're doing for younger workers is what we've already done for older workers, and younger workers were the ones most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. As were women, we're seeing a lot of those jobs come back. Now, 760,000 jobs have come back from the pit of the COVID-19 recession. 60 per cent of the jobs on measured employment, that have come back are for women. But we've already had programmes like the Restart Programme, which had been there to support older workers. Those 340,000 training places around the country that have been put together with the states and territories. There as much more older workers as they are for younger workers. And older workers will be accessing those if they have to move between industries because of perhaps in the hospitality industry or the aviation industry, those in travel agencies or things like that. If there's a retraining process, then that's there for them also. And then, of course, for much older Australians who are on the pension. We've got the two $250 payments that are coming in over the over the next nine months. And that comes on top of the $1500 payments that have already been received since April of this year. So the Government has been working right across all age groups. And at the end of the day, it's about creating jobs. And when there are jobs out there for people to get then I'm fully expecting that those opportunities will be there whether you're 55 or 25.
STEVENS: You'll be aware we've got a problem in this state with the harvest season coming up and getting the workforce there. There are people on aged pensions who are happy to go back to work, but obviously don't want it to affect their pension. Is there something we can do for these people?
PRIME MINISTER: We've got the part-pension, which is also available, and on JobSeeker arrangements I know that's different to the pension, but for those who want to go out and earn more than we obviously would want to encourage them when it comes to harvesting work. Well, that's actually quite hard physical work, as people would know. And we've been talking to the Premier for some time about access to the sort of labour force needs that are going to be necessary, particularly in the orcharding industry in Tasmania. But to those things to happen, you've got to open your borders.
STEVENS: Absolutely, and let's let's talk about that because its restrictions on businesses and closed borders that are holding us back. You want us to spend money, it's obviously difficult when when there's so many restrictions on businesses. How can we how can we change this situation?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I welcome what Peter Gutwein has already done. And I welcome the fact that he's brought forward the date for which the Tasmanian borders will be lifted. And I know he's been watching that health advice carefully. People know my view that I'm keen to see Australia open up as safely, but also as quickly as possible. Because that will obviously have an impact on jobs. I mean, that's not a criticism. But if you close borders, that affects jobs. And Tasmania has a very significant tourism and hospitality sector. And we want to ensure that Tasmanian tourism businesses and the jobs that they support get access to that domestic market of tourism that won't be going overseas. It'll be staying home. And at the moment, the states that will be benefiting from that are in places like New South Wales and South Australia and the ACT and so on. And those as the other states open up, they will benefit, too. So I'm I welcome what Peter has done. And I look forward to that continuing.
STEVENS: Obviously, as you said, there are changes ahead and restrictions being eased. But these restrictions and border closures are in place for under 10 cases Australia-wide. I mean, that's frustrating, isn't it?
PRIME MINISTER: We have a definition of a hotspot. And we made that available to the states and territories. Now, whether they choose to adopt that or not is up to them. But I mean, borders, restrictions should only be there for health reasons. And I, I know the Premier has been taking regular health advice on that. And that's what led him to bring forward that date for opening. And I'm sure if he could bring it forward further, he will. And I, of course, would welcome that if that were the case. I mean, Tasmania I know the Premier has always been had a particular concern, and that's shared. It's an older population in Tasmania and the COVID-19 virus has a greater impact on older populations. And I know that's what has caused some caution in his mind, and that's understandable.
STEVENS: Tax cuts are meant to get us spending and obviously incentives for businesses to spend, how do you encourage that with so much uncertainty?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, by the way we target and we've targeted the tax cuts to those earning less than $90,000 dollars a year. And we know from experience that those types of tax cuts, letting people keep more of what they earn for people in those income ranges, they're more likely to spend it. And that's why we've brought forward stage two of our tax plan, not stage three. Stage two has been brought forward. As I said, our recovery plan is about bringing things forward. These were all part of plans that were into the medium term. They needed to be brought forward because of the circumstances we now face. And that's what we've done.
STEVENS: You're obviously aware of the travel voucher scheme here in Tasmania. It's been so successful. Was it considered maybe using these tax cuts to deliver vouchers so that money could be spent where you'd like it to go?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, at a national level those sorts of schemes can be very difficult to implement and administer. And I welcome the fact the states are doing what they're doing. I mean, the Reserve Bank Governor himself has said that he wants to see $40bn of greater investment in the economy coming out of the states and territories. Tasmania is actually leading the pack when it comes to the investment that they've put into their economy as a state government compared to other states and territories. They've been quite forward leaning. Around the other states and territories in some cases, less than 2 per cent of their state economy is being invested back in to support their state economies. You've got one state government that's actually boasting about having a surplus, in the middle of a recession. But in Tasmania, I think the Liberal Government there has been quite forward leaning to provide that support. I mean, one of the reasons so far I think we've had the relative success we've had, is we've channelled our programmes through existing arrangements. We haven't dreamt up fanciful programmes because they inevitably come to grief. And we saw that with, you know, the overpriced school halls and we saw it with the Cash for Clunkers. And we we saw it with cheques off to pets and deceased persons, and insulation batts which you had to pay to put them in, and then pay to pull them out. That's what we learnt from what Labor did during the GFC. They showed us what not to do in a crisis. And I think as a Government, we've demonstrated what you should do in a crisis.
STEVENS: I know I have to let you go, Prime Minister. Just finally, some frightening figures in the Budget. Do we have reason to be concerned as Australians?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it is a big burden. The Treasurer said that last night. But to be honest, as we made the decisions that led to that, the alternative was even more stark. And we, of course, are concerned about the burden that we'll now carry. But the burden that, had we not acted would be even more significant. It would be businesses never reopening people who never got back into jobs. The scarring that would come from this recession of young people living a life on welfare was not an outcome that we were prepared to contemplate. It required action in proportion to the challenge. And we believe that's what we've done in this Budget with what is a very strong economic recovery plan. And we've been careful about every cent, 90 per cent of the additional spending happens this year and next year. So it's very targeted and it's very temporary. And then we get back to the Budget as normal as possible. And the longer term structural spending, we still got record health spending, record hospital funding, record schools funding. But what we haven't done is bake in long term stimulus programmes like happened before, which are very difficult to deal with when you're looking to repair a Budget, after you get past the crisis.
STEVENS: Prime Minister, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot, Aaron. Good to talk to you.
Interview with Kieran Gilbert, Sky News
7 October 2020
KIERAN GILBERT: Kieran Gilbert here with you and the Prime Minister joins me. Prime Minister, thanks so much for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: G'day Kieran.
GILBERT: An assumption a vaccine is going to be out rolling in the second-half of next year. we all hope that's the case. Should we be that optimistic? Is this too optimistic an assumption?
PRIME MINISTER: No. I mean, we're talking about the end, towards the back end of next year. But what I want to make very clear, is assumptions in the Budget are just assumptions in the Budget. They don't determine whether we're doing tax cuts or not. They don't condition whether there's the bring forward of investment allowances, or these sorts of things. All those measures, that's what's in the Budget. That's the plan. The assumptions are there to ensure that as best as we know the situation right now, then that enables us to do the estimates of how the books all add up. But they don't condition. Those assumptions don't determine whether we're going to have tax cuts, or not or that the pensioners will get their $250 this year and next year. All of those things that are in the plan, regardless of what those assumptions say. And so I wouldn't want people to think that those assumptions would in any way put at risk this important plan for our recovery and for rebuilding the economy.
GILBERT: If it's six months early, it adds 1.5 per cent growth to GDP. If it's six months late does that take 1.5 per cent off?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure, but those sensitivities are set out in the Budget. I mean, the Budget also says that we'll have an iron ore price of $55. Now, as you know, the iron ore price has been well up over $100 in recent times. So there are swings or roundabouts on the assumptions. And in my experience, this is my 5 Budget as the Prime Minister, and as a Treasurer, and sat on the ERC before that. Now, there are swings and roundabouts on the assumptions and and we'll see how they level out in time.
GILBERT: I know, everyone's asking you about the record debt, but I want to flip that question and say should you have borrowed more? Because in terms of the repayments, they're not going up because interest rates are so low. Should you have borrowed more, do we need more fiscal stimulus right now?
PRIME MINISTER: No. The COVID-19 recession is not a blank cheque. It's not. You still need to be targeted. You still need to be temporary. And you still need to be proportionate. But you also need to be scalable. And they were the principles that we set out, as you'll recall, back in March. And we've been true to those in this Budget. I mean, 90 per cent of the spending we have in this Budget is this year and next year. And I compare that to what happened with the GFC many years ago. Spending went on for years, and years, and years. They were still building school halls in schools that had closed down.
GILBERT: But it's cheaper to borrow isn't it?
PRIME MINISTER: Of course it's cheaper to borrow. And that's what's enabled us, I think, to do what's in this Budget. But I would stress to people watching that every single dollar in this Budget has been carefully considered.
GILBERT: Let me get a bottle of water for you because you've got a busy 24 hours and I know what it's like.
PRIME MINISTER: Bit of talking.
GILBERT: Exactly, when you get a frog in your throat. The other thing I wanted to ask you about is international borders, because we're talking about, the Australian population reduced by 2020, the end of 2022 there will be one million less Australians because of migration, international student restrictions. You've mentioned Howard Springs before. That facility in the Northern Territory is a potential way to repatriate Australians. I'm wondering, have you thought about using a facility like that, or a number of them to start cranking up migration again, and start cranking up international students?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah of course we have. And we've got two pilots running now in the Northern Territory and in South Australia. And I suspect we'll see more. And that's the task between now and particularly the beginning of next year's university year, gives us plenty of time, I think, now to plan on how we can hit next year running a lot harder than we were able to this year. I mean, when this, the COVID-19 recession, and virus pandemic, hit us at this pretty much the same time the year was beginning and there was a lot of unknowns. There are, there are, still unknowns going into next year but a lot more knowns. And that will help us, I think, plan around that. But with COVID-19 there are many things that, you know, you just there's not much you can do about it. Obviously, population increases are going to affected by the COVID-19 virus, but that's why the stimulus measures and other measures so important.
GILBERT: But you might be able to crank up the international students and migration so that the numbers might not be as dire?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, we can mitigate it, and that's what we'll be working closely with the states and territories on that.
GILBERT: What about the state borders, though? Mark McGowan last week said, "Oh, well, it's not in our interests,"... (inaudible) Yeah, please do. Feel free. But Mark McGowan last week talks about not reopening because it's not in their interests, South Australians, Northern Territorians don't earn as much, they're not going to spend as much. What do you make of that sort of argument? That economic protectionist argument shouldn't it be based on that health advice?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it should only be based on health- I'm very sorry. It should only be based on health advice. That's the only reason to have any of these border restrictions. And if there's any other reason then they're not being honest with the Australian people.
GILBERT: Did this Budget, was it a wasted opportunity in a reform sense? Because Anthony Albanese says there are no structural reforms.
PRIME MINISTER: Oh he just he doesn't know what he's talking about. This Budget, three core components. The first one is to cushion the blow. And we've seen that with all the measures we've had up until now and they continue well into next year. The second part is the recovery plan, and that is bringing forward, bringing forward hiring decisions on the JobMaker hiring credit. Bringing forward investment decisions on the investment allowance and the lost carry back provisions. Bringing forward the tax cuts to put more money back in people's pockets so they can keep more of what they earn. And the third component is the building for the long term future. And that's where we've got the energy reforms. There'll be more workplace reforms that comes out of the process the Attorney has been working on. There's the JobTrainer and skills training reforms that are in place, the digital transformation reforms, the research and development reforms, the manufacturing plan and the list goes on. There is a large plan that deals with the long-term future as well as the right here and right now.
GILBERT: But you didn't pursue company tax cuts again. You didn't bring forward the third phase of income tax cuts. Have you taken the path of least resistance?
PRIME MINISTER: No, not at all. What we've focused on,
GILBERT: Because you don't want the fight?
PRIME MINISTER: No. Not at all. This Budget is targeted to what we need to do right now. And what we need to do right now is bring forward those important decisions. Those important decisions are about investment. They're about hiring. They're about training. There's about 12,000 university places that will be there next year. Next year, 12,000 additional for school leavers. 340,000 training places there this year. So there's a lot in this Budget which is dealing with those immediate challenges. But as I outlined before the Budget, whether it was particularly on the energy plan or the deregulation plan. What we're doing with the Environmental, the EPBC Act, fast approval times. The infrastructure plans that are there. The National Water Grid. What we're doing around opening up gas basins. All of this is part of the longer-term plan to rebuild our economy for the future.
GILBERT: Normally, it's the Treasurer, as you know, you chaired the ERC. You chaired the Expenditure Review Committee and this process. Why did you want to take ownership of this Budget?
PRIME MINISTER: No, the Prime Minister always chairs the Expenditure Review Committee. Malcolm Turnbull used to chair it when he was the Prime Minister and Tony Abbott before him.
GILBERT: So you haven't taken a greater ownership of this one as opposed to previous Budgets?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
GILBERT: Okay. No no no that’s fair enough.
PRIME MINISTER: Someone's got the wrong end of the stick on that one.
GILBERT: Well, generally you see the social media posts, various other elements, you know that we see you're always with the Treasurer. You're a former Treasurer.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah. We're a great team.
GILBERT: Good team. Just sharing.
PRIME MINISTER: Josh has done an amazing job, and as you know, this is Mathias Cormann's last Budget. And and he has been a key part of that team for many, many years.
GILBERT: One last question, you've got another interview to get to. But, China. So much of the Budget depends on trade with China. Madame Fu, former Ambassador to Australia, she said just this week that both countries, both countries, need to show their sincerity and courage to get out of the current dilemma. She's also pretty influential still in Beijing. Do you sense that might be a start to some thawing, do you hope to see a thawing in that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I always hope and we're always open for that. I mean, Australia has just taken a very consistent position..
GILBERT: Does that sound promising to you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, I'll take any encouragement because it's important for Australia. But this is our approach to the relationship. We're for a positive and good relationship. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. We'll be very clear about what our sovereign interests are and we'll respect China's sovereign interests. And we'll get on and do business together, and have a great people-to-people relationships. I think it's all there to be realised in the future. And Australia very much wants to see that. But, you know, that comes with respect for Australia's sovereign interests just as we respect theirs.
GILBERT: Prime Minister, thanks.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot.
GILBERT: Thanks for battling through the frog.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks for that. I'm fine now.
GILBERT: We'll see you soon, cheers.
Interview with Sarah Harris and Tristan McManus, Studio 10
7 October 2020
SARAH HARRIS: The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, joins us now from Parliament House. Prime Minister, thank you so much for joining us this morning. This is a very different Budget to the much trumpeted Back in Black Budget we saw last year. We're facing nearly a trillion dollars in debt. The big question, whatever happened to those commemorative mugs?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the bigger question is, is how we're getting Australians back into jobs, and that's what this Budget is doing. I mean, a lot has changed since the last Budget. COVID-19 has wreaked havoc all around the world. It's damaged lives and it's damaged livelihoods, not just here in Australia, but everywhere around the world. And that means this Budget has to be very different. This Budget has to step up as we have as a government, as we have from the very start of this crisis with JobKeeper and JobSeeker doubling the social safety net to ensure that Australians and Australian businesses could be able to work their way through what has been the most trying of times since the Second World War. And this Budget now builds on that as we transition to not only just keep people in jobs, but get people back into jobs. 760,000 jobs have already come back and we want, we need to see hundreds of thousands more. And this Budget, which brings forward investment through our tax incentives, which enables Australians to keep more of what they earn, it's not a handout. It's just Australians being able to keep more of what they earn by bringing forward those tax cuts for low and middle income earners. And then on top of that, we move to building the economy for the future with our manufacturing plan. Our energy plan, our investment and training and additional university places and research and development, a billion dollars for further research and universities that will fuel our growth and technology and investment that will be needing to drive jobs over the next decade.
TRISTAN MCMANUS: Thanks Prime Minister, there's a big focus on spending our way out of this mess and there are tax cuts for 11 million Aussies and $500 dollars cash payments for pensioners and carers. But how do you boost consumer confidence?
PRIME MINISTER: By doing exactly these things. See, the plan cushions the blow, which is what we've been doing for many months now. And then it supports the recovery by bringing forward plans, the job hirer credit, the JobMaker, the job hiring credit means that there are payments of $200 dollars a week for those under 30, $100 dollars a week, for those between 30 and 35 for businesses to add those jobs back. Getting people back into work and off welfare is the way that you improve the nation's finances. But more importantly, it's how you improve the confidence and security of Australians. I think Australians waking up this morning, as they would have, and sat around the kitchen table, would have got a clear message from the government and that's, we’re backing you in and so Australians can move forward. This has been a terrible time for Australians through this COVID-19 recession. But Australians are coming out of it. Businesses are reopening. People are getting back into jobs. There's a long way still to go on. I’m particularly pleased that 60 per cent of the jobs that have already come back have been women. And women were the hardest hit. And as well as young people when the COVID-19 recession hit. And that's where we're seeing most of the jobs come back at this stage. We want to see that continue.
HARRIS: All jokes aside Prime Minister, we know that we are living in unprecedented times. You've said that this is the most important Budget since World War Two. And in many ways, we have been fighting an invisible enemy when it comes to COVID-19. But what about and you said you want to get people back into jobs. But what about the long term unemployed? There are a lot of people who've lost their jobs thanks to COVID-19. I understand that you want to get people back into work. But until that happens, what about JobSeeker? Will it revert back to it’s pre-COVID rate next year and a lot of people are asking, how on earth can people live on just forty dollars a day?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've already doubled JobSeeker payment through the COVID supplement, and we've made a further adjustment to that. Where you can earn up to $300, and without it-
HARRIS: But that expires on December 31st doesn’t it?
PRIME MINISTER: And what we’ve clearly said is that as we get closer to that time and we get a better read on what's happening with the economy, we will make a further decision. I've made it pretty clear. I've leaned into the fact that you could expect we'd be continuing that supplement in one form or another, as we get closer to that time we'll make that decision. JobKeeper runs till the end of March. Our income supports are there because the impact of COVID is still there, but we also have to change gear out of it as well. And we'll make those longer term decisions as we move into next year's Budget and as we move into the midyear update, as well. The COVID recession is one that has many uncertainties. And what we've learnt over the course of these past 6 months is you've got to make decisions when you can get the best available information. We've made some changes as at the end of September and we'll see how they go before making further decisions.
MCMANUS: Now, the Treasurer called this the back to work Budget. There are incentives to for businesses to employ young Australians and a billion dollars to up-skill young people. Do you have a message for young Australians who are worried about their future?
PRIME MINISTER: We do. And that is we're getting you back into work and we're already seeing many young Australians get back into work. But it's not just those who are getting back into work, if they're leaving school or looking to get into university or get into training there are 340,000 additional training places through the JobTrainer programme this year. There's 100,000 new apprenticeship places that we've put in this Budget. We continue to support 180,000 apprentices that are already in an apprenticeship right now to keep them in that apprenticeship. And on the tools. So we're investing heavily in education, in training to ensure that Australians, young Australians in particular, can have those choices and be able to plan for their future with confidence. And so they'll play a big role as we come out of the COVID recession. But for older workers as well, some years ago, we put in place the wage subsidy with the hiring incentive for older workers - that's still in place. And we'll continue to support older workers and particularly those who are transitioning. They may have lost their job in say, the aviation industry, or the entertainment or the hospitality industry and those training places are as much there for those Australians as they are for young Australians.
HARRIS: All right. Well, much of the Budget forecasts hinge on an effective COVID-19 vaccine we understand being rolled out next year. Doctors have said that that's pretty ambitious. That's a pretty optimistic timeline. Prime Minister, what happens if there's no silver bullet?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the measures in this Budget are not dependent on whether there's a vaccine or not next year. The hiring credit, the tax cuts brought forward, the investment allowances for business to invest so they could bring forward their investment decisions. The extra JobTraining places and the extra university places. The Women's Economic Security Statement, some 240 million dollars. The funding for roads and for our electricity grid as well as our water grid, that is all there. It's not dependent on whether there's a vaccine or not. The vaccine, whether it turns up next year, well, we'll have to see on the best information, assumptions always made in any Budget. Some will prove to be more cautious. Some will prove to be more optimistic. That's not new for Budgets. I've been involved with many of them and they tend to balance each other out in the way that we budgeted in the past. That was one of the ways we were able to successfully bring the Budget back into balance before we went into this COVID-19 recession, create 1.5 million jobs and to retain our triple-A credit rating.
HARRIS: Prime Minister, we know you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders at the moment, you've got to get Australia out of this budget black hole. And we saw this snap of the Treasurer out last night with a vanilla slice in the foreground, a bit of comfort food to get him through the big night. What did you turn to Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: I actually had a curry last night.
HARRIS: You had a curry!
PRIME MINISTER: Just before the Budget was, I did have a curry, it was a nice satay curry actually.
HARRIS: Not too spicy?
PRIME MINISTER: No it, I didn’t get to cook it though, I like to cook my own curries, but I didn't, I haven't had time lately to do that, just had the time to make the chook pen on the weekend.
HARRIS: Yeah. it wasn’t a chicken curry was it? You’re not down a few chooks are you?
PRIME MINISTER: It was, but not from out of the chook pen, we haven’t got the chooks in there yet. They’ll be laying hens, they won’t be for curries.
MCMANUS: Well good on you.
HARRIS: Well listen, we know you've had a huge night. We do appreciate your time. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, thank you very much for joining us today.
MCMANUS: Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much for the opportunity to be with you. All the best.
Interview with Neil Breen, 4BC
7 October 2020
NEIL BREEN: The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, he's on the line. Good morning to you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning Neil.
BREEN: A lot of money. Will your children ever grow to the age where we'll pay off this debt?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes. And the way that's going to happen is by ensuring that we've taken the action right now. If we didn't take the action we're taking right now, there wouldn't be anything left to leave to them. We would leave an economy with young people not in jobs, businesses that are forever shuttered. And that's what we have to deal with now. This is the worst global recession we've seen since prior to the First World War, and the Great Depression. And so the challenge is big and the Budget is measured up to that challenge by doing three things if you allow me just to make this point.
BREEN: Yes.
PRIME MINISTER: Firstly, to cushion that blow. So many businesses, so many jobs, so many livelihoods are under threat. And through the programmes that have been running these last six months, which extend out to the end of March, we are cushioning that blow and better than most countries around the world today. But the second part is the economic recovery plan that we announced last night. Bringing forward investments. Bringing forward infrastructure spending. Bringing forward tax cuts. Bringing forward the hiring decisions through the JobMaker hiring credit so we can get things moving right now. And then there's the longer term, the building Australia's economy for the future. That's everything from getting the gas from under the ground. It's the big changes we're making to how training and skills development is done in this country. How we're digitising our economy so we can we can earn more. But at the same time, be more efficient. And that is what enables you ultimately to earn more as an economy and in jobs. But the Budget at the end of the day, Neil, it's all about jobs. And we've got to get people back into work. We've already got 760,000 people have come back into jobs. That jobs growth hasn't been as strong in Queensland as it's been in the other states, particularly New South Wales and South Australia and even Tasmania and Western Australia.
BREEN: My reading of this Budget is it's, and what you just said, it's all about getting money into the economy fast. Is this about just shovelling cash out there for us to save ourselves?
PRIME MINISTER: It is standing in the breach in what is a terrible recession that is affecting so many Australians. And it's incumbent on us as the Government to make sure we do that now and enable business to get back on their feet. 8 out of 10 jobs are in the private sector and we need to get the private sector firing up again. And that is everything from giving them the support to hire new people, to ensure that they make the investments so their businesses can grow again as we come out of this COVID-19 recession. It's about giving them confidence and making sure they've got their, the employees have got the right training and the right skills. And we're investing across all of these areas so they've got more affordable, lower cost energy that's reliable, particularly for heavier industries. And that's why the gas plan that we've outlined in this Budget is so important. I mean, we want those manufacturing industries to be there in to the future. And to do that, you've got to have affordable energy. And that's what our that's what our energy plan is delivering. So it's right across the board. And it's not just tradies, it's techies, it's people working right across the economy that are going to benefit from all these initiatives.
BREEN: If I was a female over 35 and I'd lost my job and I'm just about to have a baby, and I read this Budget and saw there was nothing in there for childcare and not a lot for me, for my future employment prospects. What hope can you, as Prime Minister, give me?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there's $9 billion dollars being invested in childcare in this Budget. $9 billion, as a Government in recent years we've changed the way that child care is being delivered in this country. There are 85 per cent rebates that are provided, particularly to those on lower incomes to middle-incomes on what they pay in child care. And there are the speed limits we've got through the way the childcare funding is provided on the costs of that childcare. I mean going into this recession, childcare costs had actually fallen. Through this recession we've been keeping childcare operators in business. And at one point we had to underwrite the whole system. And those businesses have come through. So those childcare places are there on the other side as well. But there's a $240m programme in this Budget called the Women's Economic Security Statement that's investing in programmes, which is helping women into their own businesses, strengthening their entrepreneurial skills and keeping them safe at work, importantly as well, which is often a big challenge for women in the workplace. Safe from all sorts of threats. And that's incredibly important to us. So there's there is the second of our Women's Economic Security Statements in this Budget. We've ensured that through our childcare reforms, we've got the women's participation in the workforce up to record levels, and the gender pay gap to its smallest level that we've seen. And we want to achieve that again. And so we'll continue on with those policies.
BREEN: I've got a lot of questions from listeners here, and Lizzie writes in from the Sunshine Coast, she says, can you ask the Prime Minister why there was no nation building and no creativity, just money given to businesses for rebates for trucks and nothing for women? That seems to be a familiar question being asked today.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's why I thank you for the question you just put to me. And to be able to set out what is actually in there. But beyond that, I mean, the infrastructure spend that is going into Queensland in particular. I mean, the Bruce Highway upgrade programme. The M1 upgrade between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The Gateway Motorway upgrade. The Toowoomba second wave crossing. The Warrego Highway upgrade. The Ipswich Motorway upgrades. The Mount Lindsay Highway. And the Brisbane Metro. The Gold Coast light rail. The Beerburrum to Nambour rail line. I can go on. I mean, there is massive infrastructure spending. There’s $7.5 billion. I mean, you know, if you built the Sydney Opera House again today, it'd cost you about $700 million bucks. More than that, actually about $800 million. Now we've got $7.5 billion extra for infrastructure investment that's been brought forward because, as I said, a key part of our plan is to bring forward investment. That's a key part of our recovery. That's how you get the jobs back. So, you know, it's opening up the gas pipelines. It's opening up the gas reserves to ensure that we can get lower cost energy. There's a $1.5 billion manufacturing plan that's there for advanced manufacturing in areas from everything from space and defence through yo food and beverage manufacturing. And and the mining services are very important in Queensland in particular. So this is a broad ranging plan of a boldness and a scale that this country hasn't seen since the Second World War.
BREEN: Okay, John asked this question. Can you ask the Prime Minister if he spent 14 days in Canberra and when he's going to get up here to campaign for the LNP because we need him to get Deb Frecklington over the line?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, I hope I can get to Queensland. I mean, right now I'm in Canberra. Parliament is sitting this week. I've been...
BREEN: You have to stay there for 14 days, if you want to come here.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I've been here for a while now, preparing for this Budget. So you never know. You never know. I'd love to get up to Queensland. I've missed being able to get up to Queensland. I was able to get up very briefly just a couple of times over the last few months. And, you know, I went and saw this amazing seafood business which goes and fishes for tuna...
BREEN: Yes, on the Sunshine Coast.
PRIME MINISTER: They're amazing. I mean, they were already using the instant asset write-off to get themselves a new blast chiller and they've completely changed what fish they're fishing for to ensure that they can meet the different demands of markets and how things work in COVID-19. There are businesses that didn't sit on their hands. They went, things have changed. We've got to change. And they've kept themselves in business. It's been tough, for so many businesses it's been tough. In Queensland, in particular, the tourism and hospitality industry and the aviation industry has taken an enormous hit. And so that's why, you know, I've been keen to see things open up in Queensland. I mean, it’s for the Queensland Premier to decide how long she keeps Queensland shut. But if you're for jobs, you need to open.
BREEN: I just have to ask you one before you go, because I know you're busy and thank you for your time this morning, Prime Minister. But being the father of three children myself. When your wife and kids ordered the chicken coop, how happy were you when it turned up, delivered as a flatpack and you had to put it together?
PRIME MINISTER: I think you can imagine. But it was a nice distraction from the other many things that we've been doing down here, preparing for the Budget. So for a few hours, you know, I got the screwdriver out and the drill and the hammer and off I went.
BREEN: Out of 10, as a tradie would you get an apprenticeship?
PRIME MINISTER: Nup. I'd get an A for effort. An A for effort. But it took me, I suspect, far longer than it would, you know, an accomplished tradie, or even an apprentice for that matter. But I thought it came up all right. And, look, these little projects are you know, fun for the family, and fun for the kids. And we've had plenty of suggestions from all around the country about what to call the chooks and what you've got to do to look after them. And, you know, not have mites in the pen and all that sort of thing, and keeping the foxes out and all the rest of it. So thank you to all, to everyone for their suggestions. And quite a few people offered us chickens too but we'll be alright. We'll be able to get some.
BREEN: Good stuff. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, thanks for joining us on 4BC Breakfast.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot Neil.
Interview with Karl Stefanovic and Ally Langdon, Today
7 October 2020
ALLY LANGDON: Well, the Prime Minister has dropped by to say hello, so Scott Morrison, thank you for joining us this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Ally.
LANGDON: Do you think you spent enough money last night?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we spent what we needed to. And we're spending it all in this year and next year predominantly, 90 per cent. I know this figure is quite daunting. I can tell you as someone who's been involved in these budgets for many years now, it was certainly daunting to us. But it's what the situation requires. I mean this is the worst global recession we've seen since the Second World War. I mean the global economy is going to fall by 4.5 per cent and during the GFC it fell by 0.1, so this is 45 times worse. So, you know, that was the challenge. I think the Government has met that challenge and I know one thing Australians are certainly meeting the challenge.
KARL STEFANOVIC: How much does it vex you when Labor calls it the Morrison recession?
PRIME MINISTER: I think they embarrass themselves when they say that. They must be the only person who doesn't understand there's been a COVID-19 pandemic. I mean I think that shows that they're fairly clueless about what's going on. I mean COVID-19 has devastated lives and livelihoods all around the country. And I think that frankly dismisses the impact on ordinary Australians. And I think that's disappointing but frankly it just shows an embarrassing lack of understanding.
LANGDON: How optimistic are you that this is going to work because at the end of the day what we need is confidence isn't it?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, it is. And I think Australians as they sit around their kitchen tables this morning, whether they're thinking about where are my kids going to get a job, will they be able to get into university next year, will they get that training place, their apprentice, will the boss keep them on? Those questions are answered in last night's Budget and I think families can feel a lot more confident about their futures. I mean young people and women were the biggest impacted by this COVID-19 recession. 60 per cent of the more than 400,000 jobs that have come back already have come back for women. And so we welcome that but also there's been good jobs growth amongst young people and this will help accelerate that because if a young person doesn't get into a job after they get out of school then their risk of staying on welfare for life is rapidly increased. I learnt that when I was Social Services Minister so I need, we need, to get these young people back into work.
LANGDON: But there didn't seem to be a lot in this Budget for women specifically last night.
PRIME MINISTER: I totally disagree. I mean the women's economic statement, this is the second of our two statements. Kelly O'Dwyer did the first one. Marise Payne did this one. There's $240 million for programs like enterprising girls. Now I've had an involvement with this organisation. I mean this is about getting young women involved in how to run businesses, how to develop their entrepreneurial skills. There's investments in this Budget for women to be safe at work, which is incredibly important. To ensure also that they're getting the science, technology, engineering and math skills that are in this Budget. I mean we want to see women continue to succeed. They're enterprising and we reached record levels of female participation in the workforce, prior to this recession. And we reduced the gender pay gap to the lowest level we'd seen in this country and we want to realise those goals again.
STEFANOVIC: In your wildest imagination, or even nightmares, did you think as a conservative leader, you'd have a debt ceiling of in excess of $1 trillion.
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, of course not. And, you know, if we were sitting here this time last year, we wouldn't have envisaged what had unfolded in 2020. I think that's true for every Australian. But it's not just true here, it's true all around the world. I mean when you look at what's happening over in the United Kingdom, I mean their economy fell by almost 20 per cent in June. We fell by 7 and that was hard. Theirs has fallen by almost 20 and Australia now is just in a handful of countries, together with South Korea, Finland and Norway and the economy of Taiwan to have achieved both the balance of cushioning the blow on the economy and cushioning the blow on the health side. I'm not aware of any other countries that can speak of those results in the same terms other than the ones I've mentioned.
STEFANOVIC: There are some very big assumptions here and you're at the mercy of a couple of big factors. Victoria opening up again and getting through this crisis. I mean when have they predicted to come out of that? In the next couple of weeks? That may not happen. WA? Until maybe after the WA election? Queensland? November 1, maybe? I mean if these things don't happen it blows things out again, doesn't it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, one thing that won't change, regardless of what the assumptions are, is the tax cuts are still coming. The job hiring credit, that's all there. The assumptions don't determine what the plan is. The assumptions are what the Government uses, and the Treasury uses, to add it all up in terms of how that impacts on the books. But the plan is what's important. Getting people back into work is what is important and the plan has three components - the first is to cushion that blow, which you've seen through JobKeeper and all of these other programs. The second is to have the recovery plan by bringing forward decisions to invest, to hire, to bring forward the tax cuts so people can keep more of what they earn and then to build the economy for the future. And that's everything from the training initiatives, the affordable energy, getting the gas from under the ground, the digital transformation programs, the deregulation. All of this, which I won't dull your program with the detail, but this is a longer term plan for Australia's economic recovery, not just today, not just tomorrow, but the future.
LANGDON: But that deficit blows out, I would assume significantly, if we don't get that vaccine by the end of next year, which is what you've based Treasury figures on.
PRIME MINISTER: Look every Budget has its assumptions. I mean the Budget assumes an iron ore price of $55 dollars.
STEFANOVIC: A vaccine is slightly different.
PRIME MINISTER: No, actually, not so much as you might think. I mean an iron ore price has always had a big impact on our budgets and we've all been conservative but the point I'm making about this is that there are many assumptions in the Budget. Now I've done many Budgets and there are swings and roundabouts. Some things realise, some things don't. And that's why we update it again with the mid-year update, then we do another budget, and the Budget is based on the best information you have at the time. But I want to be clear to Australians, vaccine or no vaccines, there's a job hiring credit. Vaccine or no vaccine, there are tax cuts. Vaccine or no vaccine, businesses will be able to invest and write off that expenditure and employ more Australians.
STEFANOVIC: You're prepared to go even more into debt though if there's no vaccine?
PRIME MINISTER: We've always demonstrated that we will do what is necessary to ensure the economy is strong and we can get people back into jobs. That's what's important now because, you know, when you get people in jobs then they have security. And that's the most important thing that we're focused on right now. Not only just the health of Australians, obviously, and the way we respond to the COVID virus itself, but we've got to get Australians back into jobs. And with 760,000 already back since the pit of that recession, then we're making good progress in Australia and it's a tribute to their resilience. But you're right Karl, I mean you've got to open up too. I mean if you're running a tourism business in Victoria, well, they need to get there safely, but they need to get there.
LANGDON: And how do we get there in regards to getting us all thinking on that same page and realising that we are in this together? I mean you have been a steady hand throughout all of this but I don't think our states have been as divided as they are right now. How do you overcome that as a Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I disagree. Look, there's been a few things we've disagreed on. I mean we disagreed when schools should come back and I had a strong view on that. We've disagreed on some state borders. We've agreed on some state borders, like the New South Wales/Victorian/South Australian border between the three Premiers and myself. The states and territories will not always agree on everything, even amongst themselves. Get them talking about GST distribution between each of the states and territories and they'll go for each other, like you wouldn't know what. But, by and large, the National Cabinet has actually brought people together, regularly. We get in the room, we sort stuff out, and we keep moving forward, and we'll meet again in just under a fortnight.
STEFANOVIC: Have you spoken PM with Donald Trump since his miraculous recovery?
PRIME MINISTER: No. I've got several messages to him, wishing him and Melania well for his recovery, as many other leaders have done. I mean COVID can really knock you about, as Boris Johnson, I remember speaking to Boris not long after he returned to work and it really knocked him about. It's a serious virus. It has a fatality factor five times what we see with things like the flu and in many cases far more than that. So I wish him and Melania well and for the rest of their campaign but, you know, whichever way that election goes, one thing that is sure is that the Australia-US relationship has never been stronger.
LANGDON: And on a lighter note, how good's his handyman skills, by the way? The chicken coop at the weekend?
STEFANOVIC: It's unbelievable.
PRIME MINISTER: It was a bit of fun and the girls are looking forward to naming the chooks. But I was like any sort of bloke with instructions, it took far longer than it probably should have. I'm glad they didn't do a time-lapse photography on this thing. It would have been quite embarrassing. But you know, people are going through a rough time, and me like anyone else, you want to take your mind off things for a few hours, and do something like that and the girls are going to enjoy it.
STEFANOVIC:Well, as Joh once famously said, go and feed the chooks. You've got a bit more feeding of the chooks to go this morning, so appreciate your time PM.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot. Good to be with you. Cheers.
Interview with Lisa Millar, ABC Breakfast
7 October 2020
LISA MILLAR: And for more on the Federal Budget, Prime Minister Scott Morrison joins me now from Parliament House. Good morning, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Lisa.
LISA MILLAR: Lots of talk about hope and confidence this morning but you are hoping that a whole lot of things are going to happen for this Budget to come through for you, whether it's on the vaccine, whether it's on borders. How confident are we that that's going to happen?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I want to be very clear about this. The bring forward of tax cuts and the tax cuts that are there in this Budget; the support for hiring new employees with a JobMaker hiring credit; the instant asset write-off taken to stratospheric levels to ensure that businesses can write-off everything you see to create jobs. None of this is dependent on whether there's a vaccine or not. There are assumptions in the Budget. There are always assumptions in the Budget. There are assumptions about many things. But this Budget is a plan and that plan is not dependent on those assumptions. This plan is dependent on doing the things we need to do to get the economy moving and get people back into jobs to cushion the blow of the COVID-19 recession, to recover by bringing forward those hiring and investment decisions and bringing forward those tax cuts so that people can keep more of what they earn. And to ensure that we're building the economy for the future. With everything from our digital transformation changes, the investments and changes we're making in training and education, $1bn extra in research for universities, almost half a billion to support the CSIRO, whose other corporate revenues will be affected by the COVID-19 recession, and building for the future. We are going to come out of this stronger and we're going to have another generation, our plan is, over the next 20-30 years that Australia can once again move into, just like we had over the last 30 years.
LISA MILLAR: And we talk about that generation and the young people and the help that is there for them. What do you say to a 52-year-old who worked at Qantas who doesn't have a job? There's nothing in this Budget for them. And we've seen from the last recession that that can end up being a devastating long-term period of unemployment for older people.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I know for a fact there are many at Qantas who still remain at Qantas because of the JobKeeper programme. And if you remain an employee of a business, the job hiring credit applies to new jobs on top of those existing...
LISA MILLAR: Yeah, but JobKeeper ends in March.
PRIME MINISTER: Let me finish the answer. They won't be able to take the numbers down and then increase them and expect to get the hiring credit. It's about new jobs. But one of the reasons the JobTrainer programme, that's $1bn, together with the states, that's 340,000 training places right now. And that will often be used by those who are moving between careers. And so it may be someone who's working in the aviation sector, or the hospitality sector, or working in a travel agency or something of that nature and training to work in a different part of the economy, which is growing. But if you don't grow the economy, there won't be these extra jobs. And what we're doing over, particularly these next two years, which is where 90 per cent of the spending is additionally in this Budget. It's been temporary and it's been very targeted. And that's to ensure the economy can move forward and there'll be more jobs in the economy, whether you're 55 or whether you're 25, or even 65.
LISA MILLAR: And Prime Minister, Richard Nestler owns a helicopter tour business in Victoria. He's told us this morning he's going to be selling helicopters, not buying new ones. He can barely keep his head above water. Why do you think that businesses are raring to go to spend money?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there are some businesses which will be heavily COVID-affected and in the aviation industry, I think that's clearly one. And especially in Victoria, where they remain locked-up. And what we do need to do is ensure that our economy continues to open up. And for many of these businesses, that will be the most important thing that can happen. Whether that's in Queensland, or in Tasmania, or in Victoria, or anywhere else. That's essential. And that has to be done safely as part of a proper COVIDSafe plan. Our economic success will be built on our continued health success. But Australia is managing both of these crises comparatively better than almost any other country in the world, except for a handful. We're in a group of about half a dozen countries that are managing both of these crises as well as Australia is. But for businesses like that, we want to see those tourists come back and as soon as those borders can come down, there's a $32bn net import of tourism into Australia, that's $32bn that Australians net spend overseas. Now, that can be spent here in Australia. And that's why we need to get the country open, safely, so those businesses can move forward again and take advantage of the many measures that are in this Budget.
LISA MILLAR: Plenty of economists also suggested that if you spent a few billion on childcare, you could actually boost annual growth far greater than what you're spending on business. Why didn't you do that?
PRIME MINISTER: We're spending $9bn a year on childcare. And as you would know, particularly during the course of the COVID crisis, we spent even, we spent hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure that the childcare sector was able to get through. And for a period of time, we did make it free. But that is not a sustainable position. I mean free childcare would mean those on high incomes get free childcare, while others are forced to face difficulties in other areas of Budget and expenditure. What we're doing with childcare is targeting that support, that $9bn to those on low and middle incomes where you get 85 per cent rebate on your fees, 100 per cent fees for people who are earning $200,000 a year, waivers, I don't see how that would be a fair thing to do to those on low to middle-income earners who need that support.
LISA MILLAR: If this doesn't work, what's left in the fiscal kitty?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've demonstrated our ability to respond. And we did that because we came into this crisis better than most of the countries in the world. A triple-A credit rating, a record of one and a half million jobs that have been created, a Budget that was brought back into balance and that enabled us to move quickly. That said, the Budget comforts and cushions that initial blow. You can't get rid of the blow completely. We understand that. We had a 7 per cent fall in our economy in June. But that compares to over 12 per cent in New Zealand, almost 20 per cent in the United Kingdom. But we have been able to cushion that blow. We are putting out there our recovery plan that has seen 760,000 jobs restored or jobs that were reduced to zero hours. 60 per cent of the jobs that have already come back have been for women. And that's great. And in this Budget, our Women's Economic Security Package is all about giving those additional choices and safety for women at work to ensure that they can be a big part of this recovery.
LISA MILLAR: Prime Minister, we're almost out of time. I do want to ask you, Donald Trump has again been downplaying the dangerousness of COVID, Should people here in Australia heed the president's advice not to be afraid of coronavirus?
PRIME MINISTER: We've had a uniquely Australian response to COVID-19 that has meant -
LISA MILLAR: Yes. But what about Donald Trump's response?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Donald Trump doesn't run Australia. Donald Trump is responsible for the United States and I'm sure Australians will look to the Australian Government and the State Governments to take their directions from the health authorities here. Australia has ensured, together, working together at all levels, that we have had the, one of the least impacts of COVID of any country around the world today. Now that's not to say it hasn't been a brutal impact. It has. And that's why this Budget has responded at the scale that we have. I mean, this is an unprecedented challenge in a modern global economy. I mean, recessions are now in absolute real time. And this recession, this COVID recession is 45 times worse than what we saw in the Global Financial Crisis. Global growth will go down, we expect, by 4.5 per cent, during the Global Financial Crisis it fell by 0.1 per cent. So I think that puts it in perspective in terms of the scale of our response. But it is targeted. It is temporary. It is proportionate. And it has been well-designed to ensure that the measures are effective and are doing their job.
LISA MILLAR: All right, Prime Minister, thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much.
Interview with David Koch, Sunrise
7 October 2020
DAVID KOCH: Prime Minister Scott Morrison joins me now from Canberra. Prime Minister, I appreciate your time this morning.
KOCH: Big night of the Budget.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning David.
KOCH: Tax cuts for 11 million Australians, in part, how are you going to convince all of us to spend that extra money instead of sort of paying it off against our debt and saving it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's why we've targeted all the measures in this Budget, particularly the income tax cuts and the additional payments to pensioners, both this year and next year to people on low and middle incomes. Because we know that people on lower and middle incomes will be more likely to spend it. But I'll tell you one thing we'll never do as a government Kochie, we'll never tell people how to spend their own money. It's their money. And particularly when you're talking about tax cuts, this is money that Australians have earned and we're going to let them keep more of what they earn. And that's what we're focussed on.
KOCH: Ok. Business, no doubt happy with more now able to write-off assets, as well as offsetting the losses against past profits. Um, what sort of difference will that make for them?
PRIME MINISTER: Well it's a real game changer. I mean, you can take the COVID losses of this year and you can set it off against the profits that you might on previous years. And that means you're going to be able to supercharge what you can do to keep people in jobs now and to invest more in your future. And when you take that into account with the super-sizing of the instant asset write off, that means all of that capital investment can be expensed this year. What this is basically doing is saying we're backing businesses to get through this, to come out the other side and to grow in the future. Now, when business is doing better, then there'll be more jobs. And this is what this budget is all about, more jobs. And so down the road. That means more people in jobs. They'll be paying income taxes. Businesses will be paying corporate taxes because they'll be making profits. But that's that's the destination we've got to get to. And that's why this budget's plan is about getting businesses in that shape.
KOCH: Employers are also being subsidised to hire young people on JobSeeker through this hiring credit. Now, a lot of older Australians are saying to themselves, "Hey, where's the safety net to make sure the boss doesn't get rid of me and then hire a younger person with this with this subsidy?"
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the subsidy only applies for new places over and above what your current level of employment is. So if they drop the level of employment to take on other workers, they won't get the subsidy. So it's got to be new jobs over and above what's there now. And so if you're if you're over 35 and you're in that position, in many cases, you would have been still in that position because of the support of JobKeeper. And so JobKeeper has kept these jobs attached to these businesses. Going forward we know, though, that the biggest impact on people as a result of the COVID recession has been on women and on younger people. And we know we've got to get younger people back into jobs. Because I know as a former Social Services Minister, you don't get a young person into a job after they come out of school, and those first few years, their risk of living a life on welfare goes through the roof. So older workers are in those jobs, those who've sadly lost their jobs that's why the 340,000 training places that are in this year is part of JobTrainer that's available for older workers as well. For those who are having to transition between what they may have done in one sector heavily impacted by COVID to go into another sector. So there's training support for those workers. And of course, there's the general supports that are provided through the system.
KOCH: You recently said there'd be a focus on women and getting women back into the workforce. No free childcare in this Budget. Did you consider it at any stage?
PRIME MINISTER: $9bn a year is what we spend on supporting child care. And those on low and middle incomes, they can get up to 85 per cent of their childcare rebated. I mean, free childcare is not something we're proposing. What that does is basically give massive subsidies to those on much higher incomes. And what we're focussed on is the Women's Economic Security Statement. And that's everything from entrepreneurship. As you know, David, very, very well. Some of our greatest and best entrepreneurs, particularly our emerging entrepreneurs, are women as they're really moving out and busting out into the workforce. And as we come out of this COVID recession, women are going to play a huge role. But already, 60 per cent of the jobs that have already come back into the workforce have been for women. And that's pleasing to see. But we've got to continue to guarantee women's economic security and there is $240m in this budget focussed on exactly that entrepreneurship skills training skills, particularly in the new technology areas. Yet there's plenty of jobs for tradies in this Budget. But there's plenty of jobs for techies too. Right across the board, this Budget is about getting people into work because that's how you balance a Budget ultimately in the future.
KOCH: Aged pensioners receive another $500. Good news. But there are 2 million people who are either fully or partially self-funded retirees. Have they been forgotten this Budget? They've paid their taxes. They're now independent.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, as you know, David, we already changed the compulsory drawdown rates, and that was done earlier during the COVID crisis. And there's also been the updating and changes to deeming rates as well. But as you know, self-funded retirees live off the returns that come from the businesses that are in this recession. And so the best way to improve the returns and their incomes is to ensure that the businesses they've invested in are doing better. And that's why the tax cuts that will drive investment and support these businesses, that loss carry backs for the COVID losses of this year. All of that is going to ensure a stronger economy in Australia, which will mean better returns for those self-funded retirees.
KOCH: Yep. All of this has come at a cost and many Australians would be saying, "Hell, that deficit is huge." That government debt over the next couple of years heading to a trillion dollars. What do you say to the average Australian that's saying, "Well, are we just leaving this to our children? We're never gonna get out of this."
PRIME MINISTER: There'd be nothing to leave to our children if we didn't act now David. This is the worst recession we've seen since the Great Depression. This is 45 times worse, an impact on the global economy, than we saw during the Global Financial Crisis. Global growth will fall by about 4.5 per cent this year. During the GFC, it fell by 0.1 per cent. So our response is scaled to the size of the challenge here. And I think the resilience of the Australian people and that's why our government has stepped up to step into that breach. Over the next two years, the spending, that's where the spending is in the next two years. 90 per cent of the additional spending in this budget is in the next two years. We've targeted it. It's proportionate, it's scalable and it's temporary. And that's to enable us to get back on our feet and get going again. The debt is, of course, significantly less than what you see around the world, half what you see in the United Kingdom, even even less than that compared to Japan and the United States. And that is a product of the fact that we came into this far better than most of the countries around the world. We've balanced the Budget, 1.5 million jobs have been created, our AAA credit rating had been restored and maintained over that entire period. Now, that is essential to have responded in the way we have. And the way we're going to pay it back, David, is not by increasing taxes, not by threatening essential services, but in what we've put in this Budget to get people into work. It's the classic, simple response. If you get someone off welfare where they are taking down from taxpayers money and you get them into a job, or in a successful business that they're running, then they're paying taxes. That's how you balance a Budget and you keep a good control on expenditure as we've already demonstrated, we know how to do it.
KOCH: And it's fascinating to read in the Budget that while government debt is skyrocketing, the interest bill is actually falling because you're borrowing at less than 1 per cent and you're locking in that rate for the next 20 or 30 years.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's right. In some cases where we have had 30 year bonds. And this is why the Reserve Bank Governor, Phil Lowe, during the course of this crisis, both advising us in the Federal Government as well as the states and territories, because interest costs are so low, that does enable us to move in the way they would have without the interest bill becoming more damaging. And so keen to see the states go down a similar way. I mean, there's a lot of talk about social housing. States do social housing. They're the ones who build it. They're the ones who run the system. I would encourage them to invest in that. We've increased our funding for affordable housing from one billion to three billion through it through the National Housing Finance Investment Corporation. But there's plenty for states to do. There's a lot of money in this budget for infrastructure. Three billion on making roads safer and getting those basic repair works down on roads and other projects by local councils, whether in outback shires or down in my own Shire, down in Sutherland.
KOCH: All right. There's a challenge for the states with the Prime Minister. Really appreciate your time. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much, David.
Interview with Sabra Lane, AM
7 October 2020
SABRA LANE: Prime Minister, good morning and welcome to AM.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Sabra.
LANE: This Budget is hoping to create 950,000 jobs over four years. How many of them will be created in the next 12 months?
PRIME MINISTER: What we will see happen, I think, is hundreds of thousands jobs continue to come back into the labour market, into the economy, just like we've seen over the last three months. 760,000 jobs have been, come back into the market. We've seen jobs that reduced to zero hours come back and be real hours in jobs now, 760,000 of them. And on measured employment, 60 per cent of those jobs that have come back have been for women. And so we're going to continue to see that happen because the plan is about creating jobs now. Hiring people, bringing forward investment, bringing forward those tax cuts. Bringing forward the things that will get people in jobs.
LANE: But is $100 to $200 a week for an employer enough for them to take a risk and hire someone?
PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. And that- this is, this is what the transformation is in this Budget. We're moving from not just keeping people in jobs, but getting people into jobs. And this is going to provide that additional incentive. But when you take it together with all the other things that are in this Budget, the incentives for investment, the ability to use your current losses to access further capital, to be able to invest in your business and keep staff in in their jobs and to actually put more staff on your payroll. All of that works together to ensure more people will be in jobs.
LANE: The Government is placing its faith and hope in businesses to lead the recession recovery. What happens if they don't, because they're just not confident about the future?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, 8 in 10 jobs are in the private sector, Sabra. So the private sector always drives the economy. Always. That is what we always rely on. That's what people, majority, rely on for their incomes and their livelihoods. Whether they're employed themselves or running their own businesses, self-employed or elsewhere throughout the economy. So it's always essential that the private sector has the incentive to invest, to have that confidence and to go forward. And I think as people wake up this morning, as they are around their kitchen table, as they're thinking about their own futures, they'll be more confident today. They'll be more confident in the future they can plan for because they know the Government has done what is necessary in this crisis to stump up and ensure that there's the incentive to get on with it.
LANE: If the tax cuts go through and low income earners compare this year's income statement with last years, the boost won't be as generous as the Budget glossy papers show because the Government's chosen to compare the expected cut with wages from three years ago. Why has the government chosen to do that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've got the low income tax offset which kicks in, and that's about $255 extra. You're also increasing the threshold from $37,000 to $45,000 for those paying 19 cents in the dollar. And then for those paying 32 and a half cents in the dollar, you’re increasing that from $90,000 to $120,000. So this is a major bring forward of those tax scales and those tax incentives. See a huge part of our recovery plan, Sabra, is to bring forward things that are part of our longer term plan. They need to be brought forward to now. Whether that's the income tax cuts, which are overwhelmingly going to favour those on low to middle incomes, or it's the, what we're doing with the incentives for investment, or those that we're focussing on with the hiring credit to get people into work. All of this is being brought forward to bring forward those decisions so we can get the economy moving right now.
LANE: Prime Minister, but for someone on, say $60,000 a year they'll get something like $21 a week. Is that right?
PRIME MINISTER: No, they'll do better than that. But my point is, they'll be better off, Sabra. They'll be better off.
LANE: How will they do better than that?
PRIME MINISTER: They will, they will be better off both on the increase in the threshold from $37,000 to $45,000 and there is also the impact of the low income tax offset.
LANE: This is a cross your fingers Budget, hope that there is a vaccine, hope that businesses hire, hope that consumers spend their tax cuts. Recently many of them have been saving it. If an effective vaccine isn't found and consumers and businesses aren't confident, how ineffective will this strategy be?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I disagree with your assessment, Sabra. I think that is a fairly cynical view. What I think this Budget is about, and I think what Australians will see this Budget as, is a Budget that is a plan for economic recovery. It's a plan to create jobs. The measures that are in this Budget, whether it's the hiring credit, whether it's the bring-forward of tax cuts, the incentives for people to go and invest more and hire more people. None of this is contingent on whether there's a vaccine or not. None of it is contingent on the assumptions that are within the Budget. It's contingent on the government's commitment and passing these measures through the parliament to ensure that much needed support for our economy is there right now. But not just now, but well into the future. The JobTrainer reforms go out over the decade. The work that is being done on energy technology is about powering our economy for the next 30 years. The manufacturing plan, which is there for the next 10 years. The work that we’ve done on insolvency and credit reforms is going to fuel the arteries of this economy for many years to come. So it's about today. It's about tomorrow. But it's also about the future.
LANE: But I'm sorry, Prime Minister, the Budget papers also talk about this being contingent on there being an effective vaccine by the end of next year? If that doesn’t happen?
PRIME MINISTER: No that's an assumption, Sabra, you misunderstand the Budget papers. Having an income tax cut is not dependent on whether there's a vaccine or not. It's not. That is just the assumption that is made as to what is the, our best understanding of the economic conditions at this time, which is no different to any other Budget. The Budget also assumes an iron ore price of $55 dollars. It's been more than twice that that recently. So there are swings and roundabouts when it comes to the assumptions, and the assumptions are in every single Budget. But they don't determine what the measures are. And I think it would be wrong to suggest that a job hiring credit or an income tax cut was somehow contingent on whether there's a vaccine or not. That's just simply not true.
LANE: Net debt will hit nearly a trillion dollars by 2024, the government won't attempt to repair that until unemployment reaches below 6 per cent, maybe in 2023-24. Do you want to put an estimate on when that entire debt might be repaid?
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't think that's possible at this time. And right now, that's not the priority. The priority right now is jobs. And that's what Australians understand. And we are in a COVID-19 recession, the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression, the world economy is going to contract by 4.5 per cent this year. During the GFC, it contracted by 0.1 per cent. We're dealing with an economic crisis at a global scale 45 times worse than what the GFC was. And so that requires this sort of response. There's no alternative to that. You've got to step up and do this. But you've got to do it in a way that's proportionate, that's targeted and that's temporary. 90 per cent of what we’re spending, Sabra, will be spent this year and next year. It doesn't go on for years beyond like what happened the last time we faced a crisis under Labor. This is done over the next two years to ensure the economy gets the boost it needs to get people back into jobs and get the economy off and running again.
LANE: Will you be clear with voters before the next election on how you'll find the billions extra to start budget repair?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we've made very clear in this Budget about what we're doing on budget repair. We've made it very clear in our fiscal strategy, which has been updated in this Budget, to say the priority is to get people back in jobs. And I'll tell you why, because as both a Treasurer and the Prime Minister and a member of the Expenditure Review Committee before that, that over 6 years got the Budget back into balance. The primary way we did that, Sabra, was getting people into jobs. 1.5 million people into jobs before this COVID-19 recession hit. And when you get people not on welfare and in work, paying taxes, when you get businesses being profitable, that's how you balance a Budget.
LANE: Prime Minister, thanks for talking to AM this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot, Sabra.
100,000 New Apprenticeship Positions to Lead The Covid-19 Economic Recovery
5 October 2020
Prime Minister, Minister for Employment Skills Small and Family Business, Senator for Western Australia, Assistant Minister for Vocational Education Training and Apprenticeships, Member for Swan
The Morrison Government will invest an additional $1.2 billion to support Australian businesses to employ 100,000 new apprentices or trainees as part of our COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
Starting tomorrow, 5 October 2020, businesses who take on a new Australian apprentice will be eligible for a 50 per cent wage subsidy, regardless of geographic location, occupation, industry or business size.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said apprenticeships are an important pathway to get young people into jobs and to ensure there is a skills pipeline to meet the future needs of employers.
“During this pandemic the Federal Government has been focused on supporting and creating jobs as well as identifying the skills we need in the economic rebuild,” the Prime Minister said.
“Already 760,000 jobs that were either lost or reduced to zero hours as the COVID crisis hit, have come back into our economy. We want to continue to recover what has been lost and get young people into work.
“Whether it’s the manufacturing, housing and construction, arts or mining sectors - this new wage subsidy gives businesses certainty to hire and provides a career path to aspiring, young tradies.”
The subsidy will be available to employers of any size or industry, Australia-wide who engage an Australian apprentice or trainee from 5 October 2020 until the 100,000 cap is reached.
Under the new measure, employers will be eligible for 50 per cent of the wages for a new or recommencing apprentice or trainee for the period up to 30 September 2021, up to $7,000 per quarter.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash said the measure builds on the existing $2.8 billion Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy that is helping employers to retain their apprentices and trainees.
“The Australian Government has already invested significantly to ensure that apprentices are retained where possible and supported to re-engage if they lose their job,” Minister Cash said.
Assistant Minister for Vocational Education, Training and Apprenticeships, the Hon Steve Irons MP, said the new measures we are announcing today will build on the already significant investment to support apprentices and trainees.
“Through the existing Supporting Apprentices and Trainees measure, as many as 90,000 businesses employing around 180,000 apprentices throughout Australia will continue to be supported,” Assistant Minister Irons said.
More information on the measure is available at: https://www.employment.gov.au/boosting-apprenticeship-commencements
Morrison Government Delivers $7.5 Billion Boost for Transport Infrastructure Across Nation
5 October 2020
Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure Transport and Regional Development, Treasurer, Minister for Population
A $7.5 billion new investment in national transport infrastructure will boost the national economy, deliver safer roads and create thousands of jobs as part of the Federal Coalition’s COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
The funding to be delivered in Tuesday’s Budget builds on a series of infrastructure investments from the Commonwealth in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic which now total more than $11.3 billion.
There will be key investments across all states and territories including:
$560 million for the Singleton Bypass on the New England Highway in New South Wales;
$528 million for the Shepparton and Warrnambool Rail Line Upgrades in Victoria;
$750 million for Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector (Coomera to Nerang) in Queensland;
$88 million for the Reid Highway Interchange with West Swan Road in Western Australia;
$200 million for the Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Upgrade in South Australia;
$150 million for the Midway Point Causeway (including McGees Bridge) and Sorell Causeway as part of the Hobart to Sorell Roads of Strategic Importance corridor in Tasmania;
$120 million to upgrade the Carpentaria Highway in the Northern Territory; and
$88 million for the Molonglo River Bridge in the ACT.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday’s Federal Budget would deliver funding for infrastructure which supports the Government’s JobMaker plan and helps the nation recover from COVID-19.
“We have been working closely with state and territory governments to invest in the infrastructure that is ready to go and can help rebuild our economy and create more jobs,” the Prime Minister said.
"These projects will keep commuters safe on the road, get people home to their loved ones sooner and provide better transport links for urban and regional communities.
“As part of the COVID-19 economic recovery plan we have invested an additional $11.3 billion focused on shovel-ready projects across the country.
“This investment through Tuesday’s Budget will boost the national economy and is part of our plan to support an estimated 30,000 direct and indirect jobs across the nation.”
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Government is focused on creating jobs and rebuilding our economy.
"Infrastructure helps to create jobs and to get people where they want to go sooner and safer," the Treasurer said.
"These commitments will help to get the economy moving."
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Government is focused on delivering priorities and boosting local jobs as part of Australia’s road to recovery.
“We will draw on local businesses to stimulate local economies through these projects,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Infrastructure means jobs, it means livelihoods, it means stronger local communities and it means building a better and more secure future for our nation.”
Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said the Government was driving the delivery of major infrastructure projects to map the economic road back from the pandemic, building the economy and providing certainty for business over the long term.
“These new investments lock in billions across our infrastructure pipeline over 10 years,” Minister Tudge said.
“We will continue to invest in the key priority projects which help drive the economy and create jobs across our states and territories.”
Morrison Government Invests $155 Million in Transport Infrastructure to Boost ACT Economic Recovery
5 October 2020
Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Population Cities and Urban Infrastructure, Minister for Infrastructure Transport and Regional Development, Senator for the ACT
The Australian Capital Territory economy will be boosted, roads will be safer and thousands of jobs created, with a $155 million investment into transport infrastructure from the Federal Coalition as part of our COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
The latest funding injection builds on a series of territory-wide infrastructure investments from the Commonwealth in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic which now total more than $180 million.
Key investments for the ACT include $88 million for the Molonglo River Bridge; and $50 million for a South West Corridor upgrade package.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday’s Federal Budget would deliver funding for infrastructure which supports the Government’s JobMaker plan and help the ACT recover from COVID-19.
“We have been working closely with state and territory governments to invest in the infrastructure that is ready to go and can help rebuild our economy and create more jobs,” the Prime Minister said.
"These projects will keep commuters safe on the road, get people home to their loved ones sooner and provide better transport links for urban and regional communities.”
“As part of the COVID-19 economic recovery plan we have invested an additional $180 million focused on shovel-ready projects across the ACT.
“This latest investment will provide another boost to the local economy and is part of our plan to support an estimated 400 direct and indirect jobs across the state.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Government is focused on delivering priorities and boosting local jobs as part of Australia’s road to recovery.
“We will draw on local businesses to stimulate local economies through these projects,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Infrastructure means jobs, it means livelihoods, it means stronger local communities and it means building a better and more secure future for our nation.”
Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said the Government was driving the delivery of major infrastructure projects to map the economic road back from the pandemic, building the economy and providing certainty for business over the long term.
“The Australian Government will continue to invest in the ACT economy in the coming years, through projects such as $50 million for a Canberra – South West Corridor upgrade package,” Minister Tudge said.
Senator for the ACT Zed Seselja said these investments will deliver on the Government’s economic plan for a stronger and more resilient Australia, boosting the economy, meeting our national freight challenge and getting Australians home sooner and safer.
“The Government’s commitment to critical infrastructure continues across the territory, including an $88 million investment for the Molonglo River Bridge, supporting local jobs and businesses at the time it is needed most,” Senator Seselja said.
Since being elected in 2013 the Liberal and Nationals Government have committed more than $975 million for infrastructure in the ACT.
Morrison Government Invests $2.7 Billion in Transport Infrastructure to Boost NSW Economic Recovery
5 October 2020
Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure Transport and Regional Development, Treasurer, Minister for Population Cities and Urban Infrastructure
The New South Wales economy will be boosted, roads will be safer and thousands of jobs created, with a $2.7 billion investment into transport infrastructure from the Federal Coalition as part of our COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
The latest funding injection builds on a series of statewide infrastructure investments from the Commonwealth in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic which now total more than $5 billion.
Key investments for New South Wales include $560 million for the Singleton Bypass on the New England Highway; $360 million for the Newcastle Inner City Bypass between Rankin Park and Jesmond; $120 million for the Prospect Highway Upgrade; and an additional $491 million for the Coffs Harbour Bypass taking our total contribution to $1.5 billion.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday’s Federal Budget would deliver funding for infrastructure which supports the Government’s JobMaker plan and help New South Wales recover from COVID-19.
“We have been working closely with state and territory governments to invest in the infrastructure that is ready to go and can help rebuild our economy and create more jobs,” the Prime Minister said.
"These projects will keep commuters safe on the road, get people home to their loved ones sooner and provide better transport links for urban and regional communities.”
“As part of the COVID-19 economic recovery plan we have invested an additional $5 billion focused on shovel-ready projects across the state.
“This latest investment will provide another boost to the local economy and is part of our plan to support an estimated 8,000 direct and indirect jobs across the state.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Government is focused on delivering priorities and boosting local jobs as part of Australia’s road to recovery.
“We will draw on local businesses to stimulate local economies through these projects,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Infrastructure means jobs, it means livelihoods, it means stronger local communities and it means building a better and more secure future for our nation.”
Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said the Government was driving the delivery of major infrastructure projects in NSW to help on the economic road back from the pandemic.
“Our investment in NSW will help build the State economy, provide jobs right now and give business the certainty it needs in the long term,” Mr Tudge said.
“Key investments across NSW include $560 million for the New England Highway bypass of Singleton and $1.5 billion for the Coffs Harbour Bypass, which includes additional funding in the 2020–21 Budget of $491 million to maximise the benefits of this game-changing project for the community.”
“We will continue our commitment to NSW in the coming years, through projects such as the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport and new congestion-busting upgrades such as $360 million for a Newcastle Inner City Bypass from Rankin Park to Jesmond and $120 million to upgrade Prospect Highway in Western Sydney.”
Since being elected in 2013 the Liberal and Nationals Government have committed more than $39 billion for infrastructure in New South Wales.
Morrison Government Invests $1.3 Billion in Transport Infrastructure to Boost QLD Economic Recovery
5 October 2020
Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure Transport and Regional Development, Treasurer, Minister for Population Cities and Urban Infrastructure
The Queensland economy will be boosted, roads will be safer and thousands of jobs created, with a $1.3 billion investment into transport infrastructure from the Federal Coalition as part of our COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
The latest funding injection builds on a series of statewide infrastructure investments from the Commonwealth in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic which now total more than $1.7 billion.
Key investments for Queensland include $750 million for Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector (Coomera to Nerang); $112 million for the Centenary Bridge Upgrade in Brisbane; $76 million for Stage 2 of the Riverway Drive Upgrade between Allambie Lane and Dunlop Street in Townsville; and $42 million for the Mt Lindesay Highway Upgrade between Johanna Street and South Street in Jimboomba.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday’s Federal Budget would deliver funding for infrastructure which supports the Government’s JobMaker plan and help Queensland recover from COVID-19.
“We have been working closely with state and territory governments to invest in the infrastructure that is ready to go and can help rebuild our economy and create more jobs,” the Prime Minister said.
"These projects will keep commuters safe on the road, get people home to their loved ones sooner and provide better transport links for urban and regional communities.”
“As part of the COVID-19 economic recovery plan we have invested an additional $1.7 billion focused on shovel-ready projects across the state.
“This latest investment will provide another boost to the local economy and is part of our plan to support an estimated 5,150 direct and indirect jobs across the state.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Government is focused on delivering priorities and boosting local jobs as part of Australia’s road to recovery.
“We will draw on local businesses to stimulate local economies through these projects,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Infrastructure means jobs, it means livelihoods, it means stronger local communities and it means building a better and more secure future for our nation.”
Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said the Government’s infrastructure package for Queensland would put key infrastructure back on track in Brisbane, South-east Queensland and across the State.
“This will not only drive major infrastructure projects on the economic road back from the pandemic, but build the economy and provide certainty for business over the long term” Mr Tudge said.
“Key investments across Queensland include $750 million for the Coomera Connector Stage 1 (Coomera to Nerang) and $112 million for the congestion-busting Centenary Bridge Upgrade over the Brisbane River.”
“We will continue to invest in the Queensland economy in the coming years, including through commitments such as $76 million for Riverway Drive Stage 2 (Allambie Lane – Dunlop Street) in Townsville and $42.4 million to upgrade Mt Lindesay Highway between Johanna Street and South Street.”
Since being elected in 2013 the Liberal and Nationals Government have committed more than $28.5 billion for infrastructure in Queensland.
Morrison Government Invests $625 Million in Transport Infrastructure To Boost SA Economic Recovery
5 October 2020
Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure Transport and Regional Development, Treasurer, Minister for Population Cities and Urban Infrastructure
The South Australian economy will be boosted, roads will be safer and thousands of jobs created, with a $625 million investment into transport infrastructure from the Federal Coalition as part of our COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
The latest funding injection builds on a series of statewide infrastructure investments from the Commonwealth in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic which now total more than $785 million.
Key investments for South Australia include $200 million for the Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Upgrade; $136 million for Stage 2 of the Main South Road Duplication between Aldinga and Sellicks Beach; and $100 million for the Strzelecki Track Upgrade.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday’s Federal Budget would deliver funding for infrastructure which supports the Government’s JobMaker plan and help South Australia recover from COVID-19.
“We have been working closely with state and territory governments to invest in the infrastructure that is ready to go and can help rebuild our economy and create more jobs,” the Prime Minister said.
"These projects will keep commuters safe on the road, get people home to their loved ones sooner and provide better transport links for urban and regional communities.”
“As part of the COVID-19 economic recovery plan we have invested an additional $785 million focused on shovel-ready projects across the state.
“This latest investment will provide another boost to the local economy and is part of our plan to support an estimated 2,600 direct and indirect jobs across the state.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Government is focused on delivering priorities and boosting local jobs as part of Australia’s road to recovery.
“We will draw on local businesses to stimulate local economies through these infrastructure projects,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Infrastructure means jobs, it means livelihoods, it means stronger local communities and it means building a better and more secure future for our nation.”
Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said the infrastructure boost across Adelaide and South Australia would help provide certainty on the economic road back from the pandemic.
“This means job creation right now across the city on a variety of significant projects,” Mr Tudge said.
“Key investments across South Australia include $200 million for the Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Upgrade, and $100 million to seal priority sections of the Strzelecki Track.”
“We will continue to invest in the South Australian economy in the coming years, through congestion-busting projects such as the $136 million for Stage 2 of the Main South Road Duplication between Aldinga and Sellicks Beach.”
“These investments will deliver on the Government’s economic plan for a stronger and more resilient Australia, boosting the economy, meeting our national freight challenge and getting Australians home sooner and safer.”
Since being elected in 2013 the Liberal and Nationals Government have committed more than $9.8 billion for infrastructure in South Australia.