: The Federal Government has been unable to bring on a vote on its Help to Buy First ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Buyer Scheme, which was set to fail but has now been delayed for two months. Where does this leave the Government’s housing agenda? And could the fight with the Greens and the Coalition trigger an early election? Joining me on the phone right now is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Good afternoon, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon Cathie. Good to be with you.
SCHNITZERLING: And you too. Now, your housing bill has failed to get up in the Senate today. What concessions are you willing to make with the Greens?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this makes sense. This is part of their policy. They should vote for it.
SCHNITZERLING: Well, why didn’t they?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, they have to explain that. It’s just nonsense. They held up the Housing Australia Future Fund, which was for public housing investment. They held that up for eight months. They did this sort of nonsense of delaying votes, putting it off for months. And on Monday we announced the successful first round, some 13,700 homes will be delivered under that. But they could have been being built by now, not announced, had they gotten out of the way for legislation they eventually voted for. Now, this legislation is their policy, it’s Help to Buy, it will help 40,000 low and middle income earners into home ownership. It’s a practical plan. It works pretty simply, a shared equity scheme so that the government would share up to 40 per cent of the purchase price of a home and therefore people need less deposit, the payments are less, obviously, because the government, they’re only buying, if you like, 60 per cent of the home. And then when they sell the home, or they can pay down the government share at any time or if they sell the home, then the government recoups its investment. Now, it’s a way that people can get into home ownership with less of a deposit, with less payments, and that surely is a good thing. But the Greens, the Coalition and One Nation all combined today to put off a vote and effectively kill the bill by doing that.
SCHNITZERLING: If you did get to go to a vote today, though, wasn’t it set to fail anyway?
PRIME MINISTER: But that’s the point. Why are they voting against their own policy? It’s on the Greens website as part of the policy that they took to the last election. But what we have in the lead up to the election, which is due to be held next year, now, is the Liberal Party and the Greens essentially combining to vote together to stop investment in housing. Now, this is just one element. Tomorrow I’ll be in Queensland in Cairns with the Premier, Premier Miles, visiting the site of what will be Queensland’s largest social and affordable housing project ever that’s being funded through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. So we have a range of programs. Social housing, support for private rentals through our Build to Rent Scheme that’s been blocked by, again, a coalition of the Greens and the LNP, and now a home ownership program that’s been blocked again by the same combination.
SCHNITZERLING: If I can just return to your visit to Queensland tomorrow, to Cairns with Premier Steven Miles. We’re just six weeks out from a state election. Are you helping to boost his chances after some poor polling here in this state?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I, of course, will always support Labor candidates and I think Steven Miles is a very good Premier and it’s a Government worthy of support. So, it’s not surprising that I would be there supporting a Labor Premier. But I must say as well that I’ll support premiers wherever to boost social and affordable housing. I’ve done so in Tasmania with the Tasmanian Liberal Government. I’ll do so right around Australia because what we need is more housing supply and we need to address this issue. And my Government is trying to deal with every avenue at our disposal, whether it be home ownership, whether it be private rentals, or whether it be public and social housing.
SCHNITZERLING: Can you bring this bill to a vote before the end of the year?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it needs a majority to do so, but we’ll reintroduce the bill. It’s been regarded, we’ve had legal advice over the Housing Australia Future Fund, the last time this game playing occurred last year, that effectively deferring a vote is the same as defeating the bill. So, we’ll reintroduce the legislation into the House of Representatives in October, when we sit in a couple of weeks’ time. And we’ll continue to argue our case. There’s no legitimate argument being put forward of why this legislation is not worthy of support. What they say is, “we want to add all these other things not connected with it, otherwise we’ll just get together and be blockers.” Well, I want us to be builders, not blockers. And that’s why we’re determined to do what we can to increase housing supply. That’s why, in addition, the biggest increase in rent assistance in 30 years happens on Friday. The second year in a row that you’ve had an increase in the maximum rental assistance, in this case, 10 per cent. We’ve helped 120,000 Australians into their own home through the expanded ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Guarantee Scheme and we’ve worked with State and Territories to make renting better, including an end to no grounds evictions. We wanted Help to Buy, this scheme, to be added to the list to help lower middle income earners into their own home.
SCHNITZERLING: Prime Minister, the housing crisis is being felt keenly right around the country and here in Queensland as well. Is this issue enough for you to go to an early election?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I’m not interested in election talk. What I’m interested in is governing and that is why I’m acting to support this legislation. And it’s beyond my comprehension why we have a Senate only sitting week this week, this is now Wednesday, they’re yet to pass a single piece of legislation or defeat a single piece of legislation. They’ve just been talking to each other for three days.
SCHNITZERLING: Are you feeling frustrated?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it is frustrating that the Greens and the Coalition would get together to defeat legislation just in order to be blockers.
SCHNITZERLING: Prime Minister, getting back to the Queensland election because, as you know, that’s pretty front of mind for us here, given that it’s six weeks away. If the Steven Miles Labor Government loses that election, what impact will that put on your prospects for the next federal election? Because Labor in Queensland is a bit of a do or die. You have to win those seats in Queensland in order to gain government.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Queensland election is a matter for the people of Queensland. Of course, if I had a vote, I’d be voting for the Labor party. You won’t be surprised by that.
SCHNITZERLING: I am not at all surprised by that, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: So, that is my view. But it’s a matter for the people of Queensland and we always respect democratic processes. But we’ll be campaigning in Queensland right up and down the most regional of states to elect more Labor Members into the House of Representatives. We will be campaigning in seats like Brisbane and Griffith and Ryan against the Greens Party. But we’ll also be campaigning in Cairns. We’ve got a fantastic candidate I’ll be with tomorrow, Matt Smith, Cairns Taipans champion and a local who when I launched his campaign at the Cairns show, it appears there is no one in the entire electorate who he doesn’t know. I think he’s an outstanding candidate.
SCHNITZERLING: You know, the NRL season is coming to the pointy end and we all love our rugby league. And in breaking news, you’ve reached an in principle agreement with the ARL Commission to allow Papua New Guinea into the NRL competition. What’s the funding plan? How does this work?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’re just working through still the final details of that, but I’ve been a strong advocate for PNG to have a team in the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Rugby League. There is no country on earth that is more passionate, including Australia, than PNG when it comes to rugby league.
SCHNITZERLING: I think you’re right.
PRIME MINISTER: When I walked the Kokota track in the lead up to Anzac Day with Prime Minister Marape earlier this year, it’s quite astonishing that you would emerge from the thickest bush that I’ve certainly ever walked, through villages, and you see little kids in Broncos or Cowboys jumpers, I must say, most of them Queensland State of Origin.
SCHNITZERLING: Of course.
PRIME MINISTER: The whole country stops on three evenings a year and that is when State of Origin is being played.
SCHNITZERLING: Well, probably a very worthy 19th member to the competition. Prime Minister, thank you very much for your time this afternoon.
PRIME MINISTER: Great to talk with you Cathie.
