To discuss, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joins us live now from Canberra. Prime Minister, good morning to you. Has your word ever been your bond?
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Sarah. Good to be with you. Sarah, we've changed our position. I'm upfront about that. We've changed our position because we've thrown absolutely everything at supply. We've had increased funding for public housing, we've had increase - Build to Rent Scheme to encourage private investment. We have absolutely done everything through our $47 billion homes for Australians plan. But what's clear is that we need to do more because there's nothing more aspiring than the legitimate aspiration that Australians have to own their own home. And we can't sit back and watch a generation be locked out. That's why we've made this difficult decision and we're being upfront about that. Whilst, of course, protecting existing investments being put in place by grandfathering all the changes, so that if you have a property which is currently negatively geared, there's no change there. The difference is, going forward, you can still invest in a property, you can still negatively gear it, but it'll have to be a new property. And what that does is invest not just in yourself, but in the nation as well.
ABO: Does change translate to lie in government language?
PRIME MINISTER: We've changed our position. I'm upfront about that Sarah.
ABO: So, you've lied about your position.
PRIME MINISTER: No, we've changed our position.
ABO: But what's changed, Prime Minister? What's changed so much in the past 12 months that you've had to break a promise you repeatedly made when it comes to affordability and the intergenerational gap.
PRIME MINISTER: What's changed is that over a period of time, it's become very clear, you know, we have our $1.2 million target for new homes, is that that wasn't going to be reached unless we did something in addition to that on supply. And what's changed as well is increasingly not just young Australians, but parents and grandparents, watching your program this morning, say, I'm worried about my kids and grandkids over whether they will ever be able to own their own home. And that's why we're being upfront about this. We have changed our position. We're owning that and we're explaining why. Because I don't want to see an Australia which is divided into people who have homes and some multiple homes and people who simply will never be able to achieve the dream and make it a reality of having a roof over their head.
ABO: So, you're taking money from those parents and grandparents who have already paid their fair share of tax during the paid wages that they earned and then they can't help their parent, their kids so then they become more reliant on the Government. I mean it's just the maths behind it -
PRIME MINISTER: No, we're not. No, we're not, Sarah. Let's be very clear Sarah, be very clear. There is absolutely no change to existing properties. If you had a property even under contract, you bought it on the weekend, you can still negatively gear it. You can still get all of those concessions which are there. There is no change here. And in addition to that -
ABO: Prime Minister, as you well know, Bill Shorten took negative gearing in the 2019 election and he lost. Why have you chosen to lie to Australians instead of letting them vote on it?
PRIME MINISTER: Now what we've done is put in place measures, whilst grandfathering existing arrangements. But in addition to that, Sarah, what we've done is to take every single dollar across the forward estimates that will come from any changes to tax and we're delivering them back. So, to the parents and grandparents if you like, if they're working, they will benefit from our working Australian tax offset of $250. It comes on top of the tax cut we'll bring in on July 1.
ABO: In 2028. So, it equates to about a dollar a day or less and that'll probably be into bracket creep.
PRIME MINISTER: No. No. July. July, Sarah. July you get a tax cut. Next July you get another tax cut. If you want to, you can put in your automatic tax deduction, get $1,000 deducted as well, and then the working Australia tax offset comes in as well.
ABO: Alright, Will you introduce a death tax?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
ABO: But things change, don't they? As you and the Treasurer have repeatedly said.
PRIME MINISTER: These are the positions that we've put in, Sarah. And we have put forward -
ABO: But you've also said that things change. So how can we believe you?
PRIME MINISTER: Sarah, we have put forward these changes. We're being up front about that. We are saying we've changed our position and why we have changed our position. And we have changed our position because we don't want a generation of people who watch your program to be sitting there and thinking they're going to be running for the rest of their lives. And by doing it as well we're still allowing negative gearing just for new properties. And the difference between buying an existing property and negatively gearing it and buying a new property, is that an existing property will enable you to benefit from that investment. A new property benefits the nation as well because it adds to supply. And that's why we're throwing absolutely everything at this, because we need to make the change. This is a difficult decision, but it's absolutely the right decision.
ABO: Prime Minister, don't your own figures state though that rent is likely to go up and that you are actually cutting housing by some 35,000.
PRIME MINISTER: No, that's not right, Sarah.
ABO: Over the next decade. But your own figures say that.
PRIME MINISTER: No, they don't. Sarah, you're picking out one figure -
ABO: So, the figure is -
PRIME MINISTER: You're not looking at figure the whole system, and the whole system means 30,000 for this measure.
ABO: But it says it there. I'm picking out a figure because it's there. So, you're actually decreasing housing supply. You're talking up this 75,000- 75,000 extra Australian households that will be able to buy homes over the next decade, over 10 years. I mean, that's roughly equivalent to I think, a 1 per cent increase in home ownership in that time.
PRIME MINISTER: That is just one of the measures that we've put in place. As well as the additional measures. The -
ABO: But it's the most - it's one of the most crucial, isn't it? I mean, this whole Budget is based on housing and affordability and breaking an intergenerational gap when actually the deficit projected as well, means that those younger voters who you're trying to increase the wealth of will be paying back the debt that you are accumulating in that time.
PRIME MINISTER: Sarah, we've reduced debt by $173 billion since we came into office. We have $64 billion of savings in this Budget as well. And every single dollar of additional revenue of upgrades we're banking. As we did in MYEFO. The first time that for two economic statements in a row that that has occurred by any government in Australian history. So, we're making sure this is a responsible Budget. What we are doing is making some tax changes, but giving back every single dollar in tax relief through our Working Australian Tax Offset to make a difference.
ABO: All right, Prime Minister, very busy morning for you coming up. Thanks so much for giving us your time.
