Treasurer @JoshFrydenberg is speaking with @PatsKarvelas now on @abcnews re the Australian Government's 60-billion-dollar, 3-million-person error on JobKeeper projections – and what justifications possibly remain for excluding 1m casuals in arts, entertainment and education:

. @PatsKarvelas: One of the most significant revisions I've seen in my entire career. The Government argues this is a good news story for taxpayers – I'm not sure how many taxpayers would agree with that. This program has been a political battlefield. Especially for artsworkers.

. @JoshFrydenberg: These numbers are good news for the Australian taxpayer because the Australian economy has not deteriorated as much as was forecast. Treasury have put out a statement on reporting. @PatsKarvelas: This is not just a reporting error, it's a forecasting error.

. @JoshFrydenberg: Our #COVID19 initiatives are funded by borrowed money, this is good news. @PatsKarvelas: Will you now include excluded workers in the arts and other industries? @JoshFrydenberg: JobSeeker is available for them. @PatsKarvelas: With respect, you can't spin this.

. @JoshFrydenberg: We will not be making any wholesale revisions to these programs. @PatsKarvelas: You've made a massive mistake. Do you take responsibility for that forecasting mistake? @JoshFrydenberg: This is a very uncertain time. @PatsKarvelas: How can Australians trust you?

. @JoshFrydenberg: That was the advice to Government at the time. I don't blame Treasury nor the ATO. There has been an error. Nobody has been underpaid or overpaid. @PatsKarvelas: Given everything we're seeing, is it fair that JobSeeker should soon be halved to the Newstart rate?

. @JoshFrydenberg: The announcements that we have made to date have been temporary and targeted. @PatsKarvelas: Your colleague Trent Zimmerman MP has told me that he will be arguing for a higher unemployment benefits rate, and will be calling you to advance that argument.

. @JoshFrydenberg: The Australian Government is doing everything it can do support the economy. @PatsKarvelas: Do you understand that millions of Australians watching this program won't be convinced by that argument? @JoshFrydenberg: Australians know we are working day and night.

. @PatsKarvelas: Does this mean that the real unemployment rate is much higher than what's been announced given the impact of this? @JoshFrydenberg: The forecast remains for unemployment to peak at 10%. It would be 15% if it wasn't for JobKeeper.

That's it from Treasurer @JoshFrydenberg. Now it's Leader of the Opposition @AlboMP: This is an error so massive, you could see it from space. There are real world consequences for working people. They were told that JobKeeper was fully subscribed and there was no room for them.

. @AlboMP: This Government rejected wage subsidies when we first proposed them. Then they told us that it wasn't possible to include all workers. The arts industry has been left out, as have others. This means the downturn will be deeper and the recovery will take longer.

. @AlboMP: This is deeply humiliating for the Treasurer and Finance Minister. Responsibility must be accepted. Forms should've been checked as they were coming in. Proper oversight should've been in place. A thousand businesses making the exact same error is hardly a small matter.

. @AlboMP: Compare this to Robodebt, where people have been bullied and harassed over automatically generated letters which have been proven to be inaccurate. To the unaccountability over fraudulent documents. To the inconsistency over who claims JobSeeker and how much they get.

. @AlboMP: What we need to get through this crisis is what we've seen from working people. Commitment, diligence, hard work.

Thank you to @PatsKarvelas for this afternoon's interview, and to @JoshFrydenberg and @AlboMP for responding so quickly to this shocking news.