Australian news and politics recap April 22: Dutton, Albanese face off for third leaders debate
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Key Events
So who won the debate? The verdict is in
The verdict is in from Channel 9 panel on who won the debate…?
First up is 2GB’s Deb Knight, who says Peter Dutton edged it over Anthony Albanese.
“I think that they both performed very strongly. They were both very relaxed. They were both not just sticking to the talking points, but showing a bit more of humanity, which is what we wanted to encourage in this debate,” she says.
Ms Knight praised Mr Dutton for making strong and clear points and for debating with confidence.
It was “very, very close,” but he won over the PM when he needed to, she says.
Phil Coorey, the AFR’s political editor, says Mr Dutton won a number of fronts, including on the cost-of-living, where he was more precise and made points that were easier to digest.
“He had to come from further behind and he had to do better,” he says, but Mr Coorey still gives the victory to the PM by “half a percent” as Mr Dutton lost his composure at the start of the debate.
With the deciding vote, Charles Croucher, political editor at 9News rules the winner is Peter Dutton – “by a nose!”
Mr Dutton had his best of three debates tonight, he says.
“He brought his best cost of living material today and his facts down pat.”
Debate gets fiery over recession language
Both leaders have been in a spin around who would be the best economic manager.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton was asked about where he would make cuts in his “economic surgery” to restore the budget.
While responding he accused the Labor Government of trashing the budget and only having some positives to tell because they have “benefited from a variation in the commodity prices”.
“That means that the prices of iron ore and our other commodities have gone up, and that’s what’s given the government a bigger revenue than expected,” he said.
He accused them of being the biggest spending government in four decades.
“That’s what has led the Reserve Bank Governor to warn Australians and to warn this government that our home grown inflation problem is of the government’s making,” he said.
Mr Dutton went on to say: “The Prime Minister spoke before about interest rates coming back.
“They’re not looking like they’re coming back any time soon… unless they throw us into a recession.”
After his remarks, Anthony Albanese piped up at his wording.
He accused the Liberal leader of putting words in the RBA Governor’s mouth and making “extraordinary comments” on a recession.
“The leader of the Opposition just made an extraordinary comment, which exemplifies one of the things this election is about - him talking Australia down,” Mr Albanese said.
“He just talked about recession and said that was inevitable - said that was the only way the interest rates would come down.
“He verballed the Reserve Bank.”
Mr Dutton interjected and fired back: “PM let me tell you, you are loose”.
Both leaders commit to protect free television for Australians
The leaders were asked if they would commit to protecting free-to-air news under news bargaining incentives.
Journalist: “Do you both commit to ensure that multinational big tech organisations don’t cannibalise Australian news services?”
The questions are important for viewers as it means they can watch this third leader’s debate and the fourth, which will be hosted by Channel 7 on April 27 free of charge.
Anthony Albanese: “Yes, absolutely. And that’s why we’ve put it in place.
Peter Dutton: “Well, I think on this we can find common ground. We’re on a unity ticket and when we’re in government, we introduced the scheme and it provides support to journalism and it provides equity in the relationship and the way in which the big companies have conducted themselves.”
PM challenged over budget claims and spending cuts
The AFR’s Phil Coorey has challenged the PM over his claims about the budget and plans for spending cuts.
Coorey says the $78 billion deficit Mr Albanese says he inherited was actually $31 billion.
Corey says spending growth is running at 6 per cent. He asks: “Have you in mind any spending cuts or any spending restraint to get spending under or back under control, back under 6 per cent?”
Mr Albanese: “We’ve made $95 billion of savings in our first term. We have improved the budget bottom line by some $207 billion across the board, with $178 billion less debt, less debt, and as a result.
“Australians have saved $60 billion in interest payments.
“They’re just a fact from the 2022 budget. So we have shown our economic responsibility.
“We didn’t promise a surplus, but we’ve delivered to the former government when they came into office, promised you would recall, Joe Hockey promised a surplus in the first year, and every year thereafter, and they produced a big duck egg.
“Zero trust, deficit after deficit.
“And the current deficit, of course, is there. But we’ve halved it. We’ll continue to work on savings, continue to produce value.
Debate gets fiery over recession language
Both leaders have been in a spin around who would be the best economic manager.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton was asked about where he would make cuts in his “economic surgery” to restore the budget.
While responding he accused the Labor Government of trashing the budget and only having some positives to tell because they have “benefited from a variation in the commodity prices”.
“That means that the prices of iron ore and our other commodities have gone up, and that’s what’s given the government a bigger revenue than expected,” he said.
He accused them of being the biggest spending government in four decades.
“That’s what has led the Reserve Bank Governor to warn Australians and to warn this government that our home grown inflation problem is of the government’s making,” he said.
Mr Dutton went on to say: “The Prime Minister spoke before about interest rates coming back.
“They’re not looking like they’re coming back any time soon… unless they throw us into a recession.”
After his remarks, Anthony Albanese piped up at his wording.
He accused the Liberal leader of putting words in the RBA Governor’s mouth and making “extraordinary comments” on a recession.
“The leader of the Opposition just made an extraordinary comment, which exemplifies one of the things this election is about - him talking Australia down,” Mr Albanese said.
“He just talked about recession and said that was inevitable - said that was the only way the interest rates would come down.
“He verballed the Reserve Bank.”
Mr Dutton interjected and fired back: “PM let me tell you, you are loose”.
Older Australians not neglected in election campaign, says PM
The PM defends his Government’s record on aged care after being asked why it has not featured much in the election campaign.
“We inherited a mess,” he says.
“What we’ve done is get nurses back into nursing homes 99% of the time. The Coalition said that wasn’t possible.
“We have literally millions of additional minutes every day being provided for people who are aged care residents,” he says.
“In addition to that the aged care workforce are being assisted by the free take for training making sure that older Australians get the dignity and care that they deserve,” he adds.
Leaders speak on their personal tone in campaign
Both leaders have been asked about their personal tone and presentation during the campaign.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has been asked about his hard-man image as a former Queensland cop. While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been asked about his “soft” appearance, which the Coalition has used to criticise him.
Journalist: “Mr Dutton, we don’t see a lot of your softer side. Do you think that your time as a police officer led you to have a black and white view of the world?”
Dutton: “I’ve spoken about this publicly. I think my time as a police officer, where you see some truly horrible things, you’re dealing with.. victims of crime who are in their… worst moment in their lives… I do think you become hardened.
“I think when you go to deliver a death message to a family whose son has overdosed, or you go to a shooting or to a car accident where a child’s been killed, I do think that has a big impact on you. It certainly has on me.
“I’ve always been serious in my public life as a police officer, and since I’ve been in Parliament in protecting people and I’m very genuine about that.
“That’s been the focus of much of my work in Parliament.
“I’m absolutely determined and passionate about getting our country into the best possible position to keep us safe, to keep the economy running well, so that families can get some breathing room again.”
I’m ‘tough’ not ‘wishy washy’ says PM
The PM is asked if he is too “wishy washy” or “soft” to lead in uncertain times.
“Kindness isn’t weakness. Kindness is something that I was raised with. We’ve raised our children to be compassionate with each other, but I’ve been capable of making tough decisions,” he says.
“You don’t turn a $78 billion deficit into a $22 billion surplus without making tough decisions.”
He says he has also been tough on foreign policy, including managing the relationship with China.
“We have repaired the relationship without compromising any of Australia’s values. That has been very important,” he says.
Labor has also taken the firm call to proceed with the trilateral AUKUS security pact with the US and the UK.
“Some people don’t like that. That’s Australia’s position, it’s in our national interest,” he says.
“You don’t get to be Prime Minister and to lead the Labor Party without a toughness,” he stresses.
Dutton rolls out key campaign messages
After an ad break, Opposition leader Peter Dutton has opened with the first question.
He has been asked about what the Coalition stands for for this election
Host Ally Langdon pointed to previous Coalition slogans, like “Stop the boats. End the waste. Repeal the carbon tax.” She’s challenged Mr Dutton on what his simple message is.
He responded with: Well, Ally, we’re for a cut of $0.25 a litre in people’s fuel, which…” before Langdon cut him off.
“Not the talking points. We’ve heard that tonight. What are you stand (for)?,”she questioned.
Mr Dutton responded by continuing to push his cost-of-living point.
“You can distill that to… the fuel tax or however you want to present it. But it’s a 25 cent a litre reduction in fuel from day one,” he said.
“It’s about realising the dream of home ownership again.
“We’re going to cut migration and we’re going to provide support through the tax deductibility to get young people into homes.
“We’re going to, as we announced yesterday, make Australia safer because we’ve got a $750 million plan to stop drugs and stop illegal tobacco coming across our borders.
“And we’re going to keep our country safe by investing more in defence as well.
“There’s an energy policy about bringing more gas in.
“People know that a Coalition government more effectively manages the economy.
“If we do that, we can bring inflation down.
“We can help families get through this God awful period of the last three years and help get their own budgets back on track.”
Mr Dutton’s campaign slogan, which is on his lectern during each press conference is “Let’s get Australia back on track”.
PM denies he is trying to win by default
The PM denies he is trying to win by default by running a campaign based around not being Peter Dutton.
He says two philosophies drive his Government.
“That can be summed up with two phrases, which are ‘no one left behind, but no one held back’.”
He adds that this means putting additional money into public housing, changing the single parenting payment and increasing rental assistance by 45 per cent.
He also spruiked Labor’s new $25 cap on medicines and better and fairer schools funding for every school, so that every child is valued.
PM accuses Coalition leader of ‘nonsense’ over tariff claim
On foreign policy, the PM has accused Peter Dutton of “complete nonsense” over the latest US trade tariffs and his claims that he could get an exemption.
“The whole of the world, including every US ally, has not been able to get an exemption, but he’s going to be able to achieve it,” he says.
Mr Albanese defended his own Government’s record for receiving the lowest base rate possible of ten per cent.
“Peter said that we should put the defence relationship on the table for negotiation. Now that’s not something that I will do,” he says.
The PM also slammed Mr Dutton’s mistake last week, when he claimed the Indonesian President had confirmed Russia had made a request for access to an airforce base, 1300 km north of Darwin.
He says the “really important relationship” between the two countries was “damaged” by the claim.
Dutton still thinks he can do better US deal
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has again been asked how he plans to do better than Labor in establishing a better relationship with the White House.
It comes after Australia’s reliance on the United States was put in the spotlight with Donald Trump’s return to office on January 20 and our inclusion in a raft of new US tariffs imposed on countries around the world.
Journalist: “Mr Dutton, you’ve revealed that you’ve never met or spoken to Donald Trump. Do you still think that you would be the only leader on earth to get a better deal for Australia on tariffs?”
Dutton: “A couple of points. One is that I dealt with the Obama administration as a senior minister. I dealt with the (first Trump administration) as a senior minister,” he said.
Journalist: “But no other country has received any exemption from tariffs. Why would you be the one leader to achieve that?”
Dutton: “…And I also dealt, obviously, intimately with… the Biden administration.
“And we’d negotiated the AUKUS submarine deal, which no other country had been able to do since the 1950s. We negotiated an arrangement with President Biden’s administration, a Liberal government working with the Democrat government, to broker a deal.
“That’s the first point I’d make in terms of my experience in relation to international affairs.
“Secondly, when we were in government during (Trump’s first administration), we were able to negotiate an exemption for Australia in a way that other countries had been able to do.
“Our ambassador at the moment, a captain’s pick from the Prime Minister, (former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd) is in there, (he) can’t get a phone call… with the president. (He) cannot even get into the West Wing.
“So, no wonder the government’s had no hope of putting Australia’s case.
“The Prime Minister himself can’t get a phone call or meeting.”
His slamming of Mr Rudd’s performance comes after the Coalition repeatedly claimed they would maintain continuity in Washington by retaining him in the position if elected.
