SUBJECTS: Labor’s Regional First Home Buyer Support Scheme; Federal election; Labor’s policy agenda; housing affordability; passing of Senator Kimberley Kitching; Labor’s Powering Australia Plan; climate change.
 
MIKE O’LOUGHLIN, HOST: The pre-election promises just, well, don't they keep coming as the Federal election looms? The most recent of which comes from Federal Labor in the Regional First Homebuyer Support Scheme that's being announced today. So, joining me on the line now to tell us all about it is Federal Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese. Anthony, good morning. Thank you for your time. Welcome. I can't say welcome back. You're not in Tassie at the moment.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: I'm not. I am on my way to Wollongong for the announcement that we'll be doing with Jason Clare and Alison Byrnes, who is our new candidate for the seat of Cunningham, and Stephen Jones, our Member for Whitlam.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Well, in Tassie, you would know, because you were here recently, we are experiencing a housing crisis at the moment. Housing prices in capital cities rose by 21 per cent last year, 26 per cent in the regions, but even more so in some regional areas, including Burnie, where the cost of buying a house increased by 30.4 per cent, and in Launceston by 40.3 per cent. Some absolutely amazing jumps. I've just lost Anthony. He's coming back. Phone lines. Maybe we can just talk about getting a phone line happening and sort of getting some regularity. So, that was a question we are talking about there, a major announcement today. Their pitch as such. So, we'll have to find out where he is and see if we can get a hold him. So, we'll try and chase him up. I know that some of these phone line disappeared. We'll see we can catch him in just a tick. Well, looks like we've actually got Anthony Albanese back, Federal Labor Leader. Anthony, can you fix the mobile blackspots?
 
ALBANESE: Well, that's another program that we have, I've got to say, a program to fix mobile black spots in our regions. I know, having driven around Tasmania, it's a major problem there as well. And clearly, it's a problem on Heathcote Road on the way to the Illawarra. My apologies for that.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: No, no, no, it happens. We know. But the housing crisis at the moment, I'll repeat that. Housing prices in capital cities has been risen by 21 per cent last year, 2 per cent in the regions, but even more so in some regional areas, including Burnie, where the cost of buying a house increased by 30.4 per cent, Launceston by 40.3 per cent, which is some amazingly huge jumps.
 
ALBANESE: Exactly. It's extraordinary. One of the things that happened, of course, during the pandemic, is that Australians came to terms with the fact that there are huge advantages in living in beautiful regional areas, like Launceston, or Burnie, or Devonport, or Stanley or many of the smaller villages that are there in Tasmania. One of my best friends moved to Launceston in the last 18 months. He couldn't afford to live in Sydney. He wanted to move for a quieter life, but one that also had all the benefits of living in a city and a vibrant community, which Launceston is.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: We are one of the most liveable cities in the world, as you would understand.
 
ALBANESE: It sure is.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Now, Infrastructure Australia released a report last week, confirming housing has been identified as the biggest infrastructure problem across regional Australia.
 
ALBANESE: That's right. And the Government needs to respond to that. And that's why we're putting together this plan that will help 10,000 families every year in regional areas to buy their first home.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: This is the Regional First Homebuyer Support Scheme?
 
ALBANESE: That's right. And we have a circumstance whereby, if you're a property owner, you've done okay in recent times, because the value of the home has gone up, so you have an asset that's worth more. But if your kids are trying to get into first homeownership, or just others who've been working away, they're trying to save a deposit, and the growth in house prices has been more than any possibility that they had to save for a deposit. And that's why this scheme, that will allow for people to have just a five per cent deposit by having a 15 per cent guarantee through the Government for the property purchased, will really assist in making an enormous difference by meaning that buyers won't need to take out lenders mortgage insurance. And that will save, for regional communities, substantial dollars down the track, including, of course, there in Tasmania. We want to help people to get into homeownership. It shouldn't be the impossible dream, which is what it's fast becoming at the moment.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Well, the bank of mum and dad. But you say it is the Regional First Homebuyer Support Scheme. Well, so is all of Tasmania included in this, or just regions?
 
ALBANESE: All of Tasmania is included in this as a regional community outside of the capital city, so outside of Hobart. So, it will apply for a property price cap of $400,000 in Tasmania. That will provide support for a saving of almost $12,000 for first homebuyers, which will make an enormous difference to their prospects of getting into homeownership.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: And I mean, how does this differ from previous schemes? Because, I mean, luckily that the State Government certainly has, with their first home owner granting concessions increased to a $600,000 threshold, this first home-owner grant of $30,000 for the 2022-23 financial year. So, how is this beneficial? How's this different from previous schemes?
 
ALBANESE: Well, that will still apply, of course. Any state government assistance will still apply. But what it will do is essentially cut out the need for lenders mortgage insurance. And that is what will make an enormous difference. So, if you pool all of the support that's available in some states, it varies from state to state whether there are first home owners grants, it will mean that it will become just so much easier to get into the market. And that's why we think providing this for up to 10,000 people every year will make a big difference.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: If you don't mind me asking, what are the specific requirements to be able to take advantage of this?
 
ALBANESE: Well, the specific requirements are that it has to be for homeownership. So, it's not for an investment property. It's got to be someone who lives outside of a capital city, has been living in the broad region for at least 12 months. So, it's not for people to move to the regions. It is for people who are in the regions and unable to buy at the moment. They need to be above the age of 18. And they need to have a taxable income of up to $125,000 a year for individuals and $200,000 a year for couples.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: What I find interesting, some regions will be eligible, as I was raising, to save almost $32,000 with a property price cap of $800,000. But here in Tassie, as you said, that figure is actually almost $12,000 with a $400,000 cap. Is that right?
 
ALBANESE: That's right. So, it varies depending upon the relative price of housing, effectively. And that comes because the higher the cost of housing, the more the saving on mortgage insurance will be. So, the truth is that places like Newcastle and the Illawarra in part, because Sydney, of course, has the highest property prices in Australia and one of the highest property prices in the world, I've got to say, and that has had a flow-on effect outside of that, just as Hobart's prices have risen substantially, but that has had an impact, as well, on the regions of Tasmania.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: With house prices rising, will this assistance also increase?
 
ALBANESE: We'll have a look at that in Government. We want to put this in place based upon the figures that we've put forward now. We want to constantly look and evolve. This comes on top of the other housing policies that we have announced. The Housing Australia Future Fund to create a $10 billion fund that will provide for 30,000 additional social housing and affordable housing units to be built and created. We have set aside, of that, 4,000 to be for women and children escaping domestic violence. That comes on top of the $100 million that we've said will be provided for emergency housing as well, of which there's such an enormous need as well. And we also have programs that are aimed at the real crisis that is there in some remote housing for our First Nations community of which we've seen that has a real impact during COVID because of overcrowding and some of the conditions that Indigenous Australians are living in remote communities.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: I know this will help first homebuyers enter the property market. But we already have too high of a demand for properties at the moment. And won't this just realistically add to the demand that's currently driving prices up?
 
ALBANESE: Well, that's why we have plans as well to increase supply through the Housing Australia Future Fund. You've got to have a multifaceted approach to this. There's no quick fix or just one policy that will fix it. You need to increase supply. And you need to provide support for first homebuyers to get into the market.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: I know that the Property Council of Australia, they found more than 70 per cent of voters on their study are fearful that younger Australians will not be able to buy a house due to rising prices outstripping the ability to gain a mortgage deposit. Are they the kind of stats you looked at and said, 'We need to fix that'?
 
ALBANESE: It's not just a matter of stats. I think if you go into any pub, or coffee shop, or work room, or hang around after school and talk to parents, they will tell you that is a major conversation that is going on around Australia. When I bought my first home, I got into the market with a one in front of the price. It was a while ago now. But that same property still had sold last year, I noticed, for a one in front of it, but it was 1 million not in the six figure category. And the explosion in prices that has occurred has meant that many people have benefited from that if you're in the market. But we need to develop ways in which people can access homeownership. That is something that is a part of the great Australian dream. I grew up in public housing with my mum, who was born and died in the one public housing place that she lived in her whole life for all of her 65 years. She used to drum it into me that when you have an opportunity and you get a job, save for a deposit to get into your own home. And that was something that people aspired to. And the concern is that for younger generations, it's just becoming so hard.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Well, to repeat, to be eligible, first homebuyers must be over 18, live in the house purchased, and have a taxable income up to $125,000 per year for singles and $200,000 for couples. Well, look, it's a policy. It'll be interesting to see how it's taken up. If we can move on. I saw that you promised, if elected, you'd be a Prime Minister like Bob Hawke. What do you mean by that?
 
ALBANESE: I mean by that by having proper Cabinet processes, and by trying to bring the country together. I think Scott Morrison's always looking for an argument, he's never looking for a solution. In terms of legislation that comes before the Parliament, quite often, it's just aimed at dividing people and being tricky. And I call it 'wedgislation' rather than putting the national interest first. I think we showed, during the pandemic, when we said that whatever the legislation that was put forward to provide economic support for people during that period, we would vote for it, we might try to improve it, but we essentially declared, even before we'd seen the legislation, that we wouldn't allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. That was putting the national interest first rather than short-term politics. And that is the only way that Parliament could have adopted those measures, given the restrictions that were in place. I want proper processes. I want to consult people. I want to bring the interests of unions and business together. They have a common interest. There aren't workers if you don't have successful businesses. And we need to work together on that. We need to boost productivity. Boosting productivity is a way that you can increase profits and increase wages. And that's what occurred through both direct increase in wages, but also the social wage under the Hawke Government with the introduction of Medicare and superannuation and other changes.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: It's interesting, when I read Joe Hildebrand's story on you. It says Anthony Albanese has declared that Labor will be the Party of mainstream Australia, not the woke left, and a friend to business and aspirational Australians, as you've just said. But, I mean, it's not really the history of Labor, is it, as such?
 
ALBANESE: It is actually.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: You want to move more people into the middle-class to appeal to small business. If you don't do that, you've said Labor won't be successful.
 
ALBANESE: That's right. And that's what Labor has done historically. Whether it was during World War Two, when Australia turned to John Curtin at our most dire period of national security threat. What John Curtin did during that period was appoint Ben Chifley as the Minister for Post-War Reconstruction. They were already talking about how we build back stronger after World War Two. And we've already been talking about how we build back stronger after the pandemic, by having our Powering Australia Plan that will result in cheaper power prices, that will allow and work with our National Reconstruction Fund to build new industries, to have new growth, and to enable manufacturing to be competitive through that cheaper power prices, and to have more facilities, including areas like green hydrogen around Bell Bay.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: We still haven't got a signature on that yet at all. Marinus Link as well. I mean, we're waiting. We hear lots of spin.
 
ALBANESE: Exactly. And this Government have been in office for almost a decade. For them, it's all about the announcement, never about the delivery. And one of the things that I will do is to bring the country together. I'll have a full employment summit in the month after the election, if we're successful. And I'll bring together business and unions and civil society to talk about the need for secure work, how we lift wages, how we lift security, how we support new industries, how we support small business to grow. This will be an initiative that I announced more than a year ago. Since then, we've got our Powering Australia Plan that will see 604,000 new jobs created between now and 2030. We've announced our National Reconstruction Fund, our 465,000 free TAFE places, our support for cheaper child care to help women participate in the workforce. All of these plans come together to build a stronger economy and an economy that works for people, not the other way around.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: You've also promised a Labor Government would be every bit as strong against China as the Coalition, and reinforce Australia's bond with the US. Yet in another instant, you said China will be expected to scrap sanctions against Australia and its exports if it wants to improve the fractured relationship under an Albanese-led Government. It's interesting. And of course, you're leaving that to the Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, I understand, Penny Wong.
 
ALBANESE: Well, that does need to happen. The actions in placing sanctions against Australia are outrageous. They're having an impact on Australian jobs and Australian businesses and on our economy. And Australia should be not penalised in the way that we have for standing up for our values. We'll continue to do that. It is important that Australia, though, do more than do that rhetorically. The key for us is to reduce our over-reliance on any particular country, for that matter. But at the moment, because we're at the end of supply chains, that leaves us vulnerable. That's why we need to make more things here. That's why we need cheaper power prices through embracing clean energy, which is the cheapest form of new energy, and have a plan that will drive $52 billion of private sector investment that's been fully modelled as part of our Powering Australia Plan. This doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of good policy.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Well, I can understand there's a Federal election on the way. But I've got a couple of quick calls. Robin called with a question, a question for Albo. 'I've been working since I was 14. I'm now 75. If you're elected, would you consider no taxes for people who are still working once they reach the retirement age?' From Robin.
 
ALBANESE: It's a good question. It would be a very big change. I think, in terms of the retirement age, the cost of that across the board would be absolutely enormous. But certainly, it's a suggestion whereby one of the things I won't do is make commitments that cost substantial amounts of money, potentially, without getting them properly costed, without looking at all of those measures. What was your caller's name?
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Robin.
 
ALBANESE: I am sure that Robin has been making a contribution already.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Well, he's working at 75.
 
ALBANESE: A very long period of time. And I'm sure that from their perspective, that he has a taste for it. And I'm sympathetic. But we won't make those sort of commitments on the run.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: You have also promised, and I quote, 'I'll end the climate wars and vow that, under no circumstances, would have any coalition arrangement with the Greens'.
 
ALBANESE: Well, yes to both of those. We'll end the climate wars by having a policy that is our Powering Australia policy that I've spoken about. That's been endorsed by the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the National Farmers' Federation, as well as the ACTU and the Australian Commerce of Chamber and Industry. What we have with the climate wars is inaction. This Government have announced 22 different energy policies and haven't landed one. What business wants is certainty. That's what business wants. That's what workers want. It's what will drive down power prices by $275 for all those in the national energy market for households, and provide cheaper power for businesses as well. It's time to end the nonsense climate change is real. It does require a response. But it requires a response that will also provide economic benefit. And our plan, which we have announced fully costed with full modelling out there for all to see, will do just that.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Listen, I've got a couple of things I need to move on. I know you've got to disappear shortly yourself.
 
ALBANESE: I do.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: But I want to ask the question. How do you respond to the Prime Minister's accusation that you are gutless and avoiding allegations of bullying following Senator Kimberley Kitching's passing?
 
ALBANESE: Well, what nonsense from this Prime Minister. A Prime Minister who won't answer any questions about detail about so many issues. He had an inquiry into what his own office knew about issues around Brittany Higgins and those processes that are taking place about what his own office knew. Why couldn't he just ask and tell people what the circumstances were? This is a Prime Minister who still can't tell us who paid the funds into Christian Porter's fund to pay for his legal bills that he eventually then withdrew from the Ministry for doing so. There is a Minister who can't tell us who wrote the documents that were sent to a newspaper that was fake about Clover Moore, relating to Angus Taylor and the statements that he's made. We won't be taking lectures.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: We can go either way. It's the argy-bargy on this. It could go a long way. And I appreciate that. But realistically, I know there's been an investigation by The Australian newspaper revealing Senator Kitching endured a pattern of hostility by senior Labor Senators. We know who they are. We've heard about the 'mean girls', we've heard all of that. And I know that Labor Frontbencher, Chris Bowen, dismissed the bullying allegations, saying that Penny Wong and Kristina Keneally have only ever treated every single individual with respect. I appreciate all of that. But you understand, I think, you really do need to have WorkSafe ACT to investigate these claims of bullying. Because bullying should not exist anywhere, in any party.
 
ALBANESE: Of course, it should not. And we have processes in place should any complaint be made at any time. And my office door is open. I've said this repeatedly. At no stage did Kimberley Kitching make any complaint to me or through any other formal processes. Whether someone is on a committee or not is a part of the product of politics. People go on to committees, onto shadow ministries. There are always more people who want positions than there are positions available. It's a competitive business, politics. And from time to time, you can have robust debates. And the idea that the Prime Minister has attempted to play politics over this issue, this is a tragic circumstance whereby Kimberley Kitching lost her life due to a health issue, which was obviously there, at age 52, is very sad. And the whole of the Labor family mourns Kimberley Kitching's passing. It is too soon.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: I know you've got to go over. Next time, I'd like to have a chat about child care, even G20. There are so many other things. But I do know you have to go. And I certainly appreciate the fact that you wanted to give us a call and let us know about the Regional First Homebuyer Support Scheme as well. So, I appreciate your time this morning.
 
ALBANESE: Thanks, Mike.
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Good to talk to you. Thank you, indeed. Anthony Albanese, Federal Labor Leader.
 
ENDS