Scott Morrison faces economy ‘challenges’, stays neutral on US-China relations

The Prime Minister acknowledges there are challenges in the economy, but insists the government has a plan to see it through.

• Scroll down to hear Neil Mitchell’s interview with Scott Morrison in full

Sluggish growth in the past year has prompted concern that the economy is stalling.

The government has brought forward $3.8 billion in infrastructure spending to get things moving.

Scott Morrison told Neil Mitchell he’s confident the program will deliver results.

“Australia is facing economic challenges … I acknowledge that openly.

“There’s a lot of investment happening but we’re not putting up taxes.”

PM doesn’t pick sides in US-China face-off

Neil Mitchell: The US president is about to sign legislation supporting the Hong Kong protesters, and China has responded by threatening retaliation. Do we support the US or China?

PM: Well, we don’t have to make these choices. We have a direct relationship with China, we have a direct relationship with the US.

We’ve been urging restraint and patience and at the end of the day it’s a matter for the Hong Kong administration to deal with the civil issues there.

Our interventions — overt or otherwise — don’t really help that situation.

Click PLAY to hear the full interview