The Coalition and Labor leaders fielded questions from the ABC's David Speers on the topics of housing affordability, power bill costs, climate change, and relations with China and the USA. Video via ABC.
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00:00So my question to you both is can you honestly say that your plans will make housing any more
00:06affordable in five or ten years or will they simply keep pushing prices higher? Mr Albanese?
00:12Yes we can because we have a plan not just for demand but for supply as well. A plan through
00:19the Building Australia Future Fund to build more public housing. A plan as well for private
00:26rentals to get increased supply there through our build to rent scheme. A plan as well to
00:31get first home owners to give them a fair crack particularly young people. Now a 5% deposit
00:38rather than 20 will mean that instead of paying off someone else's mortgage they can pay off
00:44their own mortgage. We have five elements to our plan. The first element is a $5 billion fund
00:50where we work with councils and we identify where they've got land releases that are being
00:55stalled at the moment simply because they just can't afford the sewerage or the water
01:00or the road upgrade. So that will bring on 500,000 new home lots. That is on the supply
01:06side a very significant benefit. The second part is that we reduce migration by 25% so that
01:11we can allow the housing stock to be built up again. And by doing that as well as stopping
01:17foreigners for two years from purchasing Australian homes we give Australian young Australians a go.
01:24The next part of our plan which I think is incredibly important is to make sure that we can say
01:29to young Australians who are locked out of the housing market under the government at the
01:33moment that for the first $650,000 of your mortgage that will be interest that you could
01:39claim against your income. So for an average couple that will be about $11,000 or $12,000 a year over five years.
01:47It'll be a lot more for high income earners won't it than low income earners. This is regressive. It helps wealthier investors.
01:53It provides for an average taxpayer about $11,000 or $12,000 a year which is $1,000 a month which for, it serves two purposes.
02:01More if you're on high incomes. Well it serves two purposes. One is when you go to the bank you've got a higher level of disposable income so you're more likely to get the loan.
02:10Secondly, it helps you service the loan. David, in our country at the moment there are young Australians who are putting off having kids and there are parents and grandparents
02:18who are staying in the workforce longer because even though they've worked hard and saved for their own retirement they can't afford to retire because they're having to chip in for their kids or grandkids to help pay the mortgage.
02:29Look, you and Chris Bowen keep saying that renewables are the cheapest form of power. When will we see our power bills come down?
02:36They are. Well what we know is that renewables are the cheapest form of power not because of what we say but because of what the Australian energy market operator says.
02:45So when do the bills come down? And what the market is delivering. See, Peter has to have government, state, taxpayer funded, taxpayer funded, taxpayer funded proposals.
03:00What we're dealing with here during the former government, 24 out of 28 coal fire power stations announced their closure.
03:08We need to get supply and certainty and energy security. We can't wait to the 2040s for a nuclear plant.
03:18Just sticking with your plan, Mr Albanese, when will the bills come down?
03:21Under our plan we know that renewables are the cheapest form of power and that is why we are doing that, rolling it out, including through gas.
03:30Peter raised gas. Gas is now $13. It was $30.
03:35And when does it get cheaper?
03:37When we came off, $13 is cheaper than $30.
03:39When do we see the bills come down?
03:41Well what we need to do is to roll out renewables, make sure there's energy security, make sure it's backed up by batteries, by hydro and by gas.
03:51That is what all of the private sector is backing and investing in, not using taxpayers' money to fund something that they never put forward the entire time they were in office.
04:03All right.
04:04Meanwhile, coal fire power stations, including the one in Kallide at the moment, which is one of these nuclear sites that's broken down and isn't in operation at the moment.
04:12Well, at the moment, some states are extending the life of these coal-fired power stations.
04:16That is what is causing the increase in prices is because of the uncertainty created by…
04:22You're saying they shouldn't be doing it?
04:24No.
04:25They need to ensure energy security.
04:28But what shouldn't have happened was 24 out of 28 coal-fired power stations announced their closure and no support for energy security during that time.
04:38And we can't afford to wait for the 2040s.
04:42Okay. Let me ask you both a question about climate change.
04:44We get a lot of questions about the concerns that people have over more intense weather events, be it storms, fires, floods, particularly in your home state Queensland, Mr Dutton.
04:56Do you accept that we are already seeing the impact of climate change?
05:00Well, David, there's an impact. The question is what we can do about it as a population of 27 million people.
05:05So we should be good corporate citizens, good international neighbours, etc.
05:10But at the moment, China is building two coal-fired power stations a week.
05:14India, obviously, is burning a lot of fossil fuel.
05:16And what the government's doing…
05:18And Chris Bowen gave us…
05:19Sorry. Can we stick with your plans again here, Mr Dutton?
05:22I understand the propensity to get stuck into each other.
05:25You're agreeing we are seeing the impact of climate change?
05:27I think you can see that there's an impact, David.
05:30But I don't…
05:31In my home state, you made reference to floods and natural disasters events.
05:36We were out in Thargaminda the other day.
05:38That has been a part of the history of our state, of this country.
05:42And we need to…
05:43Is it getting worse, though? Is it getting worse?
05:45Well, I'll leave others to…
05:46What do you think? You're a Queenslander?
05:47Well, I'll let scientists and others pass that judgement, but…
05:50Really? You're not willing to say this is climate change happening right now?
05:53Well, as the Prime Minister refused to do the other day, to make comment in this regard as well.
05:58I don't know, David, because I'm not a scientist.
06:00And I can't tell you whether the temperature has risen in Thargaminda as a result of climate change,
06:07or that the water levels are up in Thargaminda's latest flood as a result of climate change.
06:12And I think the honest answer for most people is that they don't know.
06:16And there are scientists who can provide advice.
06:18What I need to do as the alternate Prime Minister in this country is to put forward our plan
06:23about how we're going to help families.
06:25We need to transition, and we've spoken about that, with our zero emissions technology.
06:30But in relation to power costs, which I think is a really important issue before we move on,
06:35the Prime Minister promised a $275 reduction per year at the last election.
06:39It has never eventuated. He never mentions the figure.
06:42And at least Chris Bowen was able to give you a straighter answer than what you just heard before,
06:46because power prices have gone up by $1,300, and they are making no commitments in this election,
06:51other than if you vote Labor, your electricity and your gas prices will go higher.
06:55We've moved away from the impact of climate change a little there.
06:57The science is very clear.
06:59It doesn't mean that every single weather event is because of climate change.
07:03It does mean that the science told us that the events would be more extreme
07:07and they'd be more frequent.
07:09And that is what we are seeing playing out, whether it be increased bushfires, increased flooding,
07:14these extreme weather events that are having an impact.
07:18Well, we trust the United States, and I don't know the President.
07:21I've not met him.
07:23The Prime Minister, obviously, has been able to...
07:26So you're not willing to say you trust Donald Trump?
07:28I don't know...I don't know Donald Trump is my point.
07:31My point is that who I trust is the Australian people.
07:34And my job is to stand up for our country's interests,
07:37which is what I did when we negotiated the AUKUS deal with President Biden.
07:41OK.
07:42Mr Albanese, you...do you trust Donald Trump?
07:45Yeah, I have no reason not to.
07:46I've had a couple of discussions with him in the last discussion.
07:50We agreed on a series of words that he would give consideration.
07:55Great consideration was the words that he used.
07:58And...
07:59Do you trust China's President, Xi Jinping?
08:01I have no reason not to either, in terms of the discussions that we have had,
08:05as one-on-one discussions have been important.
08:11China's our major trading partner.
08:13One in four Australian jobs depends upon trade.
08:16Do you trust Xi Jinping?
08:17Well, David, again, I don't know the President of China,
08:19but I believe very strongly in the relationship that we have
08:22because of the reasons the Prime Minister outlines it.
08:25Would it really be a disaster for the country,
08:27or is this just, you know, a bit of political hype,
08:29if the other guy won?
08:31Mr Albanese?
08:32I think there are very different values that we have.
08:36I can have a private discussion with Peter.
08:39I can call him round in the office, and he does so regularly.
08:43And my office is open to every member of parliament.
08:46But I don't take this personally.
08:48But I have a very different view of Australia.
08:51And I think that Peter has taken his party
08:54to a more conservative bent than it has ever been.
08:57And I want very much to be able to continue the work
09:02that our government's been able to achieve.
09:05All right. Mr Dutton.
09:06Well, David, on matters of national security
09:09or issues that are important for our country,
09:11the Prime Minister and I can have a conversation
09:13and have on a number of occasions
09:15to find a bipartisan position to advance that cause.
09:19But, as Anthony points out,
09:21we've got different visions and different pathways,
09:24and it really hurts me to see young Australians
09:28completely locked out of the housing market.
09:30It hurts me to see young families
09:32putting off having kids under this government.
09:34And the reason the Prime Minister's running a scare campaign
09:37at the moment is that he doesn't want to talk
09:39about the reality of the last three years,
09:41which has been a failure for our country.
09:43And the 29,000, 30,000 small businesses,
09:45behind every one of those stories
09:47is somebody who's lost their home,
09:49somebody who's lost their life savings or their job.
09:51And I have a vision where we can run our economy successfully
09:55so we can help people up and provide support to them
09:58and to keep our country safe.