Treasurer Scott Morrison refuses to explain the future of the five cent piece

THE Treasurer has had a marvellous week so far, answering question after question about his first Budget. Except this one.

SCOTT Morrison has been proudly parading as master of a $1.6 trillion economy, but the confidence cracked today when he was asked for his five cents worth on another matter.

Instead of offering a coherent reply, the Treasurer became cranky as he sneered at an issue which has the interest of thousands of Australians.

Mr Morrison gave the traditional National Press Club post-Budget address in Parliament House and took questions from reporters.

Towards the end of this session he was asked by news.com.au why he had not abolished the five cent coin, which has become a nuisance with limited utility in modern retailing.

.@farrm51 asks @ScottMorrisonMP why 5 cent coin (which costs 6 to make) is not being phased out. Refuses to answer.https://t.co/iwiXFtt6ZP

— David Sharaz (@DavidSharaz) 4 May 2016

Malcolm Farr to Morrison - Why haven’t you abolished the 5c coin? #Budget2016

— Sam D (@SamDickfos) 4 May 2016

Morrison just ensured the 5c coin is going to be a massive issue by dismissing the legitimate question and being a condescending prick #npc

— Well hello there (@ktxby) 4 May 2016

Why cany Scott Morrison answer a simple question about the 5c coin? #auspol #nationalpressclub

— William Polak (@willpolak) 4 May 2016

@farrm51 Id be happy to be one of the 500 arrogant morrison requires to attend to address the 5c piece.

— Adam Dwight (@AdamDwight1) 4 May 2016

yes but Morrison, ill use small words for you: there is not a new 5c coin produced for each time someone spends one, they last for years

— TurnLeft (@TurnLeft2016) 4 May 2016

It now costs six cents for the Mint to make a five cent coin, and it was suggested a Government which wants to live within its means might address that.

“If you can get as many people as in this room again who are interested in that topic, I’ll answer your question,” said Mr Morrison.

On Monday, news.com.au published a story on the five cent coin and how it was outdated and expensive. It was read by 54,000 on our site and a further 10,000 across the News Corp network.

There were 593 people in the Great Hall of Parliament House, where Mr Morrison spoke.

Given the reader interest in the story, he has a 100 times his nominated quorum.

The Treasurer continued: “I mean, I’ll take it up with the Reserve Bank governor. Why don’t we get some questions on the Budget?”

Mr Morrison had earlier been asked a question about the rejected sale of the vast Kidman property to the Chinese, which wasn’t a Budget matter, and he answered that question at length.

The difference was the five cent question was outside his preferred brief, and he became cranky because he didn’t have a pat response.

One business guest at the lunch said Mr Morrison had not put a foot wrong for a week, until that non-answer.

The ABC’s Chris Uhlmann, chairing the lunch, might have riled the Treasurer further by jokingly commenting: “Maybe you could make them in South Australia, but they would cost 10 cents.”

That was a playful reference to the construction of submarines in Adelaide, with a 30 per cent premium on the price.

In June, 2014, Mint CEO Ross MacDiamid told a Senate committee that producing each little echidna coin cost six cents.

And in February this year he marked the coin’s 50th birthday by telling a committee: “We’ve seen a halving of the demand for five cent pieces over the past five years and our expectation is that it will just simply progress.

“It’s lost its utility; it will lose interest from the public.”

It clutters purses and is useless for purchases unless in ungainly multiples.

And in a largely cashless retail market where plastic cards dominate, it is often redundant.

Perhaps that is just small change for a man-of-the-people Treasurer.

Originally published as Treasurer Scott Morrison refuses to explain the future of the five cent piece