Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reaffirmed his government's stance on negative gearing amidst mounting pressure from the Greens party to reconsider housing tax policies. In a heated radio interview with 2GB Drive host Chris O’Keefe, Albanese defended his position, asserting that there will be no negotiation on altering negative gearing rules to secure support for the government's housing plan.
The interview comes against the backdrop of escalating tensions between the government and the Greens over the Help To Buy scheme, the government's signature housing policy aimed at assisting first-time homebuyers - which the Greens say will push up price and make everybody worse off. The Greens have demanded changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax deductions in exchange for their support for the scheme, sparking a contentious debate on housing affordability and taxation.
Albanese dismissed the Greens' demands as unwarranted, asserting that negotiations will not be based on such terms. He emphasized the importance of increasing housing supply as the key to addressing affordability issues, highlighting existing initiatives aimed at bolstering the housing market.
Here is the responses of the PM:
O'KEEFE: Okay, negative gearing, let's move on. Can we get a straight answer on negative gearing? Will your Government fiddle with it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have no intention to, Chris. What amazes me is that the Opposition want to talk about anything except for what we are doing. What we are doing is giving every Australian a tax cut, all 13.6 million of them. And 84 per cent of them will get more. 90 per cent of women, 98 per cent of young people. This is good policy. On housing, the one tax change that we have put in place is the one that we've considered and that is an incentive for Build-to-Rent. In addition to that, we have additional money for public housing. We've got our Housing Australia Future Fund. We've had our National Housing Accord that we're working with the private sector and State and Territory Governments. The key to housing and what the Greens don't seem to understand is supply. That's the key. And I must say Chris Minns and his Government, which I'm sure you've had either Chris or Rose Jackson on your program, who are really taking up the ball to say we need to get more appropriate development. I myself have spoken about Parramatta Road being an example of where you could have more medium density development in order to deal with housing supply, because that's the key to creating housing opportunity.
O'KEEFE: When you say no intention to change negative gearing, and it's not really the Opposition's fault, this has been thrust into public debate. It is the Greens' fault because they're trying to hold you over a barrel to pass your housing plan. They say they'll only support it if you change your approach to negative gearing.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there'll be no negotiations on that basis and I made that clear in Parliament. What we will be doing is, one of the schemes they're talking about, Chris, this shows the Greens hypocrisy. It's the Help-to-Buy scheme. Now, that's a scheme which operates in New South Wales, in Victoria, in WA. It's operated successfully in WA now for almost 50 years. And what it is, is that the State, or in this case it would be the Commonwealth Government, essentially partner with an individual or a couple, a family. So, if they're going to buy a house for a million dollars, then the State or the Commonwealth can take a share, 30 per cent of that, that cuts down the mortgage to $700,000. The Commonwealth or WA have been making money out of this for a long period of time, continue to essentially have that ownership of that proportion of the house, and then later on, if people are in a financial position to do so, they can then purchase that off the financial institution. It's a way of getting people out of the rental market and into the home ownership market.
O'KEEFE: And the Greens don't want to let you do it, unless you fiddle with negative gearing.
PRIME MINISTER: And we won't be talking with them about that. Very clear. I've made that very clear, Chris. No negotiation with the Greens on that issue. We simply think that this has merit. If they want to argue, and bear this in mind as well, Chris, that the Greens only think they're in this position because the Coalition are saying they'll vote against Help-to-Buy. If the Coalition actually were capable of doing something other than saying no to everything that's put forward, then the Greens wouldn't be in that position. But if they want to block it, that's a decision for them. They'll be accountable for it.
O'KEEFE: Let's leave the Opposition out of it for the time being. Now, whether you like to hear this or not, there is a concern in the community now when you say you have and your Government has no intention to fiddle or change or roll back negative gearing. Given you said something very similar about the stage three tax cuts, people might find it hard to believe you.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I changed my position, Chris.
O'KEEFE: And you might change it on negative gearing.
PRIME MINISTER: Let me say this, Peter Dutton's changed his position as well on the same issue. The Coalition are voting for our cost of living tax cut. Indeed, I expect our cost of living tax cuts will go through the Senate and the House of Representatives unopposed. One Nation are supporting it, the Liberal, the National Party, the Greens, I think, will vote for it in the end. They're a bit upset that they've been not in a position to have any influence over it because it's the right decision done for the right reasons at the right time. And I was upfront about that. I've gone through and I've ticked off the policies that we announced one by one. But on this you can't say there are cost of living pressures on low and middle income earners, and I'm not in a position to do anything about it, because I am. I'm the Prime Minister. I've shown leadership. I've shown strength. I've had the guts to make a difficult decision knowing that it would be contentious. And guess what? Australians understand that. And what I'm getting is the positive feedback. Which is why Peter Dutton has gone from saying they'd fight it, they'd roll it back, to voting for it.
The full interview is available here: Australian Prime Minister Radio interview to 2GB Drive
