SARAH ABO, HOST: Joining us live from Hobart is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Good morning to you, PM. It's an election campaign spend-a- thon.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Sarah.
 
ABO: There are more prizes than the Easter Show, but nothing ever comes for free. And seemingly, PM, the billions it'll cost for all of us is just not that important to you?
 
PRIME MINISTER: You bet it is. I'll tell you what's important, Sarah, it's building more homes. And that's the big difference. We have a plan for supply, not just a plan for demand. Unless you're building more homes, then you will put upward pressure on prices and that's why we're so pleased the latest figures show 26 per cent approvals are up in February this year, compared with last year. When you look at housing construction costs, they're at just 1.6 per cent compared with the 17 per cent it was, the increases, when we were elected. We've got 28,000 homes in the Housing Australia Future Fund under construction or under approvals. We want to make sure that we boost supply, that we increase home ownership, that we increase the number of private rentals, and we increase the number of social and public housing as well.
 
ABO: We still don't know how you get to pay for it though, PM, as you know, no one here has any expectation that it will be paid off in anywhere near the near future. I mean, economists left, right and centre all say this will also increase house prices. I think people are more likely to trust the advice of economists than a political party trying to push its own policies in the interests of winning an election. It's that simple.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we're doing, Sarah, is investing a $43 billion Homes for Australia plan. It's making a difference. We need to increase supply -
 
ABO: How are you going to pay for it, PM?
 
PRIME MINISTER: We have that target. We have that target. Well, take for example, our Help to Buy scheme. Our Help to Buy scheme, what it allows for is for shared equity, shared ownership with the government, if you like, for new builds up to 40 per cent. So, if you have a place worth $500,000, then instead of having to borrow the $500,000, you just have $300,000 because 200 is covered by the government. And then down the track you can pay that back. A 5 per cent deposit has worked for 150,000 homes already. The default rate for that, is just 3 out of 150,000. Not 3 per cent, just 3. Because the home loans, instead of waiting to try to get that 20 per cent deposit, when house prices continue to increase and you're still trying to get to that 20 per cent, you just have to get to 5 and then the government will go guarantor, which will get you into home ownership earlier. So, you're paying off your own home rather than someone else's.
 
ABO: Housing obviously is a big focus. You want to build 100,000, I think it is, new homes in this policy. That's on top of the 1.2 million houses you've previously promised. The Treasurer said only about -
 
PRIME MINISTER: No, that's part of the 1.2 million.
 
ABO: Okay. Well, only about 2,000 of those have been built. So, what's the long-term plan on that? How many -
 
PRIME MINISTER: That's not right.
 
ABO: The Treasurer said that yesterday, twice.
 
PRIME MINISTER: That is just not right, Sarah. That is just not right.
 
ABO: Okay, how many have been built then, PM? How may have been built then?
 
PRIME MINISTER: 28 - well, if you give me a chance, Sarah, 28,000 are under construction or under planning.
 
ABO: How many are built?
 
PRIME MINISTER: The legislation was held up by The Greens Party and the Coalition in the Senate. We only, we only had our legislation on Help to Buy passed last December. Now if you pass legislation, where are we? April, four months ago, you can't expect there to be a house completed the construction in that time.
 
ABO: Okay. Alright.
 
PRIME MINISTER: But what we are doing is getting on with the business of putting in place a comprehensive plan, as I said, social housing, private rentals, as well as increased home ownership. And the difference in our scheme, the 100,000 is about making sure, and we visited places yesterday, Sarah, in Adelaide that are being built on the state scheme that we're going to make national. There there were 110 townhouses being built, 40 of which will be just for first homeowners so that the first homeowners, when they go along to the auction won't be competing with investors. And what that will do is make sure that they get a fair crack, which is what we want to do.
 
ABO: Alright. There are a lot of numbers being thrown around 28,000, the Treasurer did say yesterday two and a half or so have been built. 1.2 million. It's a supply thing, isn't it? I mean you've also got to get people to build them –
 
PRIME MINISTER: It is a supply thing.
 
ABO: Enough skilled tradies to build them. Do we have enough?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Yep.
 
ABO: How are they looking? How is that going to get built?
 
PRIME MINISTER: And that's precisely why one of the big arguments in this campaign is over Free TAFE. We've got 600,000 people have enrolled in Free TAFE. Around about 40 to 45,000 of those are in construction. I've met apprentices doing everything from electrical to carpentry and joinery. They're making a difference. The Coalition will get rid of Free TAFE. They say you don't value it. Well, those young people and people retraining doing Free TAFE think it's important. In addition to that, what we've got is $10,000 incentives whether you're doing electrical or carpentry or anything in construction as well. That incentive to make sure that, essentially, you can have your tools and everything else paid for.
 
ABO: Alright, PM –
 
PRIME MINISTER: And that's an incentive to go down that track because we do need a higher skilled workforce.
 
ABO: We are running out of time, as you know. But given you're so focused on young people at the moment, maybe the Liberals diss track that they dropped yesterday might actually work. Should we have a quick listen? I mean, it’s almost, PM, as confusing as this.
 
PRIME MINISTER: They are delulu with no solulu, Mr Speaker.
 
ABO: So, should you and Pete have a rap battle to settle the score? What do you reckon? That might win some votes? 
 
PRIME MINISTER: I tell you what, the Liberal Party channeling Drake in his front cover.
 
ABO: [Laughs]
 
PRIME MINISTER: I'm not sure they're aware of Drake and his whole background, but I don't think that's a very wise thing to do.
 
ABO: Mic drop.
 
PRIME MINISTER: You know what young people want?
 
ABO: Alright, we have to go, PM.
 
PRIME MINISTER: They want action on climate change.
 
ABO: Yes, yes, yes. Thank –
 
PRIME MINISTER: They want Free TAFE, they want schools looked after, they want policies that help them to get ahead, not cuts for a nuclear plan.
 
ABO: Look, I wish we could have an unlimited time to talk, but Hobart looks beautiful and they need your time down there. So, thanks for joining us this morning.
 
PRIME MINISTER: It is beautiful, but it's a bit chilly, as Karl will recall.
 
ABO: He knows it well, don't you, Karl? 
 
KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: No, I reckon the rap battle is a good idea. Ally should do that with –
 
ABO: The debate, that’s a great idea.
 
STEFANOVIC: The great debate next week.
 
ENDS