Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday, the Governor of the Reserve Bank said that unemployment is going to be higher for longer, and still around seven per cent in two years time. Why is the Prime Minister withdrawing support from the economy and the jobs market, which will make it even harder for Australians to find jobs and put food on the table?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the Governor of the Reserve Bank said just yesterday, the fundamentals of the Australian economy remain strong. He pointed out that unemployment will remain elevated for some time, and this is consistent with the Treasury's view. As I said to the House in an earlier question, unemployment today is at 7.5 per cent, and the expectation is that it will reach around 10 per cent by the end of the year, but, as the honourable member for Rankin knows, the situation in Victoria has been a major drag on the national economy, with Treasury saying that up to 400,000 people in Victoria will either lose their jobs or see their hours reduced to zero as that state is subject to stage 4 restrictions. As a quarter of the national economy, the impact of what we're seeing in Victoria does have a much broader consequence for the country.

Our JobKeeper program is continuing, it's expanding, it's being extended and, at $101 billion, it's the single largest program any Australian government has ever undertaken. We are transitioning that program, because seven out of the eight jurisdictions in this country are managing the virus. But, in my home state of Victoria, it's a different situation—

Mr Brian Mitchell interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lyons is warned!

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Rankin would like to pretend there hasn't been a once-in-a-century pandemic. The member for Rankin would ignore the fact that Victoria is in stage 4 restrictions. The member for Rankin would ignore the fact that we have undertaken the biggest single economic support program in Australia's history. The member for Rankin would ignore the fact that our contribution of $314 billion is around 15.8 per cent of GDP and the state contribution has been around $48 billion, or 2.4 per cent of GDP.

I'd say to the member for Rankin, pick up the phone to the Premier of Queensland and suggest that they spend more on infrastructure, more on social housing, more on payroll tax relief and more on land tax relief, and come with the Commonwealth. As the member knows, there are plenty of water projects that we are looking for additional Queensland investment and infrastructure for. There are plenty of road projects that we are looking forward to increased expenditure in Queensland.

We are doing everything in our power to get more Australians back to work. Of the 1.3 million Australians who lost their job or saw their hours reduced to zero since the start of the crisis, around 700,000 are now back in work, showing that our JobMaker program is working.