Dutton says he doesn’t want house prices to go down under his housing plan
Opposition leader Peter Dutton is also across the TV networks this morning, and joined ABC News Breakfast after the PM.
Dutton yesterday said he wanted to see “sustainable” growth in house prices across the market, which is a sticky issue between young people who are struggling to get into the market, and older Australians who have a home and don’t want prices to drop.
Dutton is asked whether he wants to see housing prices “brought down” to help more first home buyers into a home.
He says he doesn’t want to see prices drop, particularly for those who have just bought a home:
If you’ve got a house that you’ve just bought and you’ve got a $500,000 mortgage and your house goes down by $100,000 under Labor, and your mortgage is worth more than the house itself, then that’s not a good situation for you.
We want sustainable growth. If you’re buying a house today, if you can find one – and if you can afford one under this government – you don’t want to wake up in two years’ time and find that the value of that house has gone down.
Key events
What about workforce? The other central element to the housing crisis is the lack of construction workers about to build the homes needed.
Albanese tell the Today show, Labor’s fixing that through an increase in fee free Tafe places.
We’ve got 600,000 people have enrolled in free TAFE, around about 40 to 45,000 of those are in construction… In addition to that, what we’ve got is $10,000 incentives. Whether you’re doing electrical or carpentry or anything in construction as well, that incentive to make sure that essentially you can have your tools and everything else paid for.
Meanwhile, Dutton has said that he’ll add tradies to the top of the skilled migration list (though that migration program will be cut by around 25%).
The Coalition has also promised a $12,000 wage subsidy for businesses to provide support to apprentices.
At the top of that list goes those trade ies and their skills. We want those people to come here in the migration program because we want to increase the number of people who are involved in construction… another part of our plan is to put support into young apprentices and trainees going into the building and construction sector.
Battle of housing supply: who’s building more?
Both parties have said they’re the ones doing more on housing supply, while experts and economists have said neither is doing enough to address the supply versus demand issue.
Albanese told News Breakfast earlier (as he’s been saying this week) is that Labor is tackling supply through their existing programs, as well as their new $10bn commitment to build 100,000 new homes for first home buyers:
What we’re doing is dealing with supply as well as demand. The Coalition’s plan will push up prices. Our plan will ensure that more homes are built. And what we’ve seen under my government is 28,000 of those social housing through the housing Australia Future Fund are either under construction or under planning.
Meanwhile, Dutton told the program they’re addressing supply through their fund to fix sewerage lines and roads to “release” new land.
We have $5 billion, which works with councils to release 500,000 blocks of land. We cut migration by 25%…
Dutton says he doesn’t want house prices to go down under his housing plan
Opposition leader Peter Dutton is also across the TV networks this morning, and joined ABC News Breakfast after the PM.
Dutton yesterday said he wanted to see “sustainable” growth in house prices across the market, which is a sticky issue between young people who are struggling to get into the market, and older Australians who have a home and don’t want prices to drop.
Dutton is asked whether he wants to see housing prices “brought down” to help more first home buyers into a home.
He says he doesn’t want to see prices drop, particularly for those who have just bought a home:
If you’ve got a house that you’ve just bought and you’ve got a $500,000 mortgage and your house goes down by $100,000 under Labor, and your mortgage is worth more than the house itself, then that’s not a good situation for you.
We want sustainable growth. If you’re buying a house today, if you can find one – and if you can afford one under this government – you don’t want to wake up in two years’ time and find that the value of that house has gone down.
Anthony Albanese started on ABC News Breakfast this morning, again defending the housing policy announced over the weekend.
Labor’s policy widens eligibility for all first home buyers to access their 5% deposit scheme.
Albanese’s asked whether widening it also increases the risk of people getting into the scheme who can’t afford it, and could default on their repayments.
He says:
There are 150,000 Australians have got into home ownership through this scheme already. There have been three defaults. Why? Because all of the conditions of banks lending remain exactly the same.
Good morning from Krishani
Hello, Krishani Dhanji with you for another day in glorious election campaign paradise. Yesterday it was diss tracks – what more will we get today?
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are both doing the media rounds this morning. They’re still trying to sell their housing policies and cost of living plans, despite economists expressing serious concerns they could drive housing prices upwards.
The PM is starting out in Tassie this morning, while Dutton is in Melbourne – both areas holding crucial seats for each party.
It’s going to be a busy day!
Greens push for free lunches for public school students
Patrick Commins
Australia’s 2.6 million public school students will get free lunches under a Greens election pitch that the progressive party claims will improve kids’ health, lift their grades, and even keep them on the straight and narrow.
This morning at 10am, the Greens’ leader, Adam Bandt, alongside Senator Penny Allman-Payne and MP Max Chandler-Mather, will be “flipping waffles” and selling the scheme in Chandler-Mather’s inner-Brisbane seat of Griffith.
In a press release ahead of the event, Allman-Payne, a former teacher, said “a universal program of school lunches in every public school will ease the cost-of-living burden on families, improve the health and well-being of our kids, and help level the playing field for our most disadvantaged students”.
Of course, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and the cost to the budget would be $11.6bn over the four-year forward estimates period, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office – about $4.6bn a year once the scheme is up and running.
Chandler-Mather won the seat from Labor at the previous election with a margin of more than 10%. Since then the 33-year-old says he has spent $32,000 a year from his own salary to pay for weekly free breakfasts in public schools in his electorate.
Victorian Liberals distance themselves from federal party’s nuclear policy
Peter Dutton’s poll woes today comes as Victoria’s opposition leader, Brad Battin, distanced the state party from the opposition’s controversial nuclear policy, saying he will concentrate on gas and that the federal leader has his “own campaign” to run.
Dutton is less popular in Victoria than in other states and Batti’s remarks suggest an attempt to create clear blue water between himself and the federal party.
In a wide-ranging interview with our state correspondent Benita Kolovos, Battin explains how he would fix the justice system, why he “grew up differently” to fellow former cop Dutton and that he’s counting the days to the state’s next election (599 to go).
Read Benita’s stories here:
Resolve poll say Labor within reach of majority government as Trump ties damage Dutton
The Nine newspapers has a poll today saying that Labor has edged further ahead on a two-party preferred basis with 53.5% compared with 46.5% for the Coalition, whose support has dropped from 50% a month ago.
In further evidence that Donald Trump’s chaotic policy-making in the White House has damaged Peter Dutton, the survey by Resolve Strategic shows that 35% of undecided voters “are less likely to back Dutton because of changes wrought by Trump”. Only 24% say the same of Anthony Albanese.
The poll suggests that Labor is now within reach of forming a majority government after the 3 May federal election.
Josh Taylor
Taylor and Chalmers spar over nuclear costings and uncertain times
Angus Taylor was also asked on 7.30 whether the Coalition has private companies ready to invest in nuclear power in Australia. He said there is a moratorium on nuclear in Australia at the moment, and that would need to be lifted first.
The two argued over the Coalition’s costing of nuclear of over $300bn, versus the costing Labor argues, based on Smart Energy Council modelling.
Chalmers said one reactor is being built in the UK for $87bn but the Coalition was claiming it could build one for less than $20bn. He said the Coalition’s gas policy was developed to “distract from their dodgy nuclear plan. They hardly ever talk about it” and he said there would be cuts to pay for it.
Both politicians finished by pointing out we are living in uncertain times and Taylor pointed to his 25 years of business experience and passion for growing the economy and getting the country back on track.
Chalmers said a Coalition government would be “cuts and chaos to make Australians worse off and take Australians backwards.” He said Taylor and Dutton “see the policies and politics of the United States” and want to replicate them.
Angus Taylor quizzed on Dutton’s ‘no tax cuts’ U-turn
Josh Taylor
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, has been questioned on why the opposition leader Peter Dutton, indicated before the election there would be no tax cuts before announcing a one-off $1,200 refund for 10 million Australians in the Coalition’s campaign launch on Sunday.
In a debate on ABC’s 7.30 program on Monday night, Taylor was played a clip of Dutton on 7.30 previously where he said “we won’t be able to provide tax cuts during this campaign”.
Taylor said it was a “short-term cost of living reprieve for Australians, meaningful, rebuilding the household buffers” rather than tax reform.
Chalmers said the Coalition are offering no ongoing help with the cost of living, pointing to the tax cuts passed just before the election as addressing bracket creep.
In the wide-ranging debate, the two politicians also sparred over housing policy and energy.
Taylor said the policy of allowing tax deductions for first home buyers of new homes will not just provide affordability but a pipeline of new housing. Chalmers said the Coalition would abolish the Housing Australia Future Fund, which would result in fewer homes being built.
Welcome
Martin Farrer
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
Last night the treasurer and shadow treasurer turned up for a debate on the ABC’s 730 show – in case you missed the action, we’ve got the main points coming up.
One of our top stories this morning is an exclusive interview with the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, who has vowed to continue slashing the number of consultants employed by the federal government and to begin rebuilding departments within the public service if re-elected, while accusing the Coalition of importing a Doge-style agenda from the US.
Labor has pulled further ahead of the Coalition as the election campaign continues, opening up a larger lead in the latest Essential poll after two weeks of policy confusion and backdowns from Peter Dutton’s Liberals. A new poll in the Nine newspapers also shows Labor edging further ahead. More coming up.
After yesterday’s splurge of promises by the major parties to try to fix the housing crisis, experts have warned that Australia does not have enough construction workers and other trades to meet election pitches to boost housing supply.
Also today, the Greens will launch a new policy to provide free lunches for public school students. More on this soon.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank will release the minutes of its last monetary policy meeting at 11.30, shedding more light on why it did not cut interest rates earlier this month to relieve pressure on homeowners.
