Federal election 2025: Housing policy battle continues as Prime Minister bats away expert analysis

Caitlyn Rintoul
The Nightly
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the campaign trail In the VIC.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the campaign trail In the VIC. Credit: Jason Edwards/NCA NewsWire

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton continued to battle over whose housing plan would best serve the nation, but on Tuesday were reluctant to speak about their intentions to help their children get into the housing market.

The Prime Minister spent much of Tuesday’s press conference hitting back at experts criticising Labor’s policies, with would allow 5 per cent only deposits and send $10b the way of 100,000 new homes.

But, experts have warned the policy would cause a price rise and leave many young buyers still waiting on the housing-market curb.

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“I’m not sure that I’ve they’ve looked at all of the detail, frankly,” Mr Albanese shot back at the analysts on Tuesday.

“Because some of the things that they’ve spoken about don’t match what we’re actually doing. The key difference between the two approaches is supply,” he said, referring to the competing Coalition plan.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the campaign trail In the VIC.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the campaign trail In the VIC. Credit: Jason Edwards/NCA NewsWire

Mr Dutton continued to position himself as a “PM for homeownership” boasting about his policy which would allow buyers to claim $12,000 a year in mortgage interest off their tax for the first five years.

For the second time is as many days, the Opposition leader wheeled his apprentice-carpenter son Harry out at a housing development — this one more than an hour from Melbourne’s CBD.

After dodging questions about whether Mr Dutton would allow his son to tap into the bank on mum and dad on his house-hunting quest, Mr Dutton finally relented on Tuesday.

“I think, like every parent, I despair at the thought of our kids not getting into housing because they want their own place,” the Liberal leader said.

“I think our household’s no different to many households where we want our kids to work hard, to save, and we’ll help them with a deposit at some stage.”

When Mr Albanese was later asked if he had given his son Nathan a leg up to enter the housing market, he said “families don’t have a place in these issues” and didn’t “comment on other people’s families” or go into his “own personal details”.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers entered the policy debate, labelling Coalition’s scheme “a cost-of-living con job”.

“The choice on housing is very clear,” Dr Chalmers said.

“Under Labor, higher wages, lower taxes and ongoing help with the cost-of-living.

“Under Peter Dutton, higher taxes, lower wages and no ongoing help with the cost-of-living.

“The relief that he wants to provide in the near term will be clawed back by higher permanent taxes on every Australian taxpayer, lower wages and as I said, no ongoing help with the cost of living.”

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