David Pocock says major parties lack the ‘courage’ to tackle housing crisis – as it happened (2025)

We will shut down the live blog here for the night. Here’s what made the news:

• The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the COP climate conference would be held in Adelaide, if successful in Australia’s bid to host it.

• Albanese and his deputy, Tanya Plibersek, have brushed off suggestions of a strain in their relationship after an awkward moment at the campaign launch on Sunday, with the prime minister saying they’re “good mates”.

• The Greens will make free Tafe and university a priority in negotiations in the event of a minority government.

• The Liberal party raised eyebrows with the release of a diss track about Labor today. The prime minister described it as “beyond my comprehension”.

• Channel 7 will host the third and final leaders’ debate, at 8pm on Sunday 27 April.

• The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, held a press conference with his son Harry today, where Harry said it was almost impossible for him to get into the housing market. No word on whether he would get help from his property- and share-investing father.

Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening.

The independent senator David Pocock says both Labor and the Coalition are missing “long-term thinking and courage” on housing.

He told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that while the Labor policy will add to supply, neither party wants to tackle one of the root causes which is the tax system treating housing as an investment vehicle, “not a human right or something you actually need to be able to flourish in your community in society”.

This is what the major parties on missing is long-term thinking and courage to take on these challenges. It seems like the whole election strategy is to basically say “we are slightly better than the other bunch”. How have we got to this point in Australia? I think you are seeing independents across the country listening to their community, saying we want a long-term vision and a plan for this, and we want to tackle the things that have been in the too-hard basket for too long. When it comes to our tax system, capital gains tax, discounts, negative gearing, stamp duty are all things we should be dealing with.

When it was pointed out Labor went to the 2019 election with a policy on this and lost, Pocock says he is hearing the housing situation is desperate, and very different from the situation in 2019.

Katy Gallagher backs ‘tried and tested’ deposit guarantee

The finance minister and Labor campaign spokesperson, Katy Gallagher, is on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing and was asked to respond to criticism that both Labor and the Coalition’s housing policies announced yesterday will lead to increased prices.

Gallagher said the 5% deposit guarantee is one of a number of programs aimed at getting more homes, and people into homes. She said the Coalition’s policy is “fewer homes and higher prices” forcing young people to “ransack their savings”.

Asked whether she would like to see house prices rise in Australia, Gallagher says the government is focused on making sure there is enough supply.

On whether this transfers the risk to taxpayers, Gallagher said the program already exists, and it’s a “tried and tested” system with only three defaults out of 150,000 in the program already.

Canavan says migration cuts will prevent house price rises

On whether the Coalition’s housing policies will push up prices, Canavan says that is not the case due to the Coalition’s promised cuts to migration.

I don’t necessarily think that is true in the overall context of cutting migration as well. The other thing we will do is lots of different things going on with policies and the other aspect we will do, which the government has failed to do, and not promising to do anything believable, is we will have 100,000 homes opened up over the next five years by bringing in fewer migrants. We can’t bring in the number of people we are right now, and that’s a big reason for the housing crisis we have right now.

Barbara Pocock says the Coalition’s policy will cause prices to rise, while adding Labor’s policies are just “tinkering at the edges”, and there should be tax reform, including taking away tax benefits for the second or more investment properties. Pocock says rent increases should also be capped, and there should be affordable social housing.

Canavan ‘all for’ anti-Albanese diss track … but won’t be putting it on his playlist

Asked on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing whether he will put the Liberal’s diss track on his campaign playlist, Nationals senator Matt Canavan says “probably not” – but said it is helping get the message out.

It gets the message out, you are pushing the message that the average Australian is paying $3,000 a year [more] for groceries and the loss of control in energy policy at some of the highest prices in the world is to blame for that. It gets people to understand those issues causing pain for everyday Australians, I’m all for it.

The Greens senator Barbara Pocock says it is “not a memorable hit for the 2025 election” and to connect with young people they need to talk about policies young people care about like student debt, and housing affordability. She said Dutton’s theme song should involve “backflips”.

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‘No way’ Liberal candidate endorses views expressed in paper he co-authored, shadow multicultural affairs spokesperson says

The shadow minister for multicultural affairs, Jason Wood, has told local media there is no way the Liberal candidate for Bruce holds the views expressed in a parliamentary submission he co-authored.

On Saturday, Guardian Australia revealed Zahid Safi co-authored a 2021 parliamentary submission suggesting the Hazara community in Afghanistan was not persecuted on the basis of its ethnicity, contradicting the Australian government and drawing rebuke from international human rights groups.

The comments led members of the Hazara community, which has a significant presence in the electorate of Bruce, to lodge their own dissenting submissions to the inquiry, alleging the co-authors including Safi sought to erase the “well-documented persecution of an entire ethnic group”.

Wood has told the Berwick Star that he spoke to Safi in recent days and said “his input into the report was on the health aspect”:

There’s no way that he or anyone at the Liberal party has the same view [as the report on downplaying Hazara genocide].

Guardian Australia asked the Coalition whether the co-authored report reflected its policy position but did not receive a response.

Safi said he was “a staunch advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all individuals worldwide” and that “a full and fair reading of my submission makes clear that I advocated for every single living individual at risk from the national atrocity and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan under the Taliban.”

A quick roundup of the last three questions:

Albanese was again asked about the Liberals’ diss track – he said people can look up his DJ sets on Spotify, and he offered to play his music to the travelling press pool.

Albanese alludes to this story:

Oh, people will make their own conclusion – but people can have a look at the caps that my team wear, and the caps that the other team wear and draw their own conclusions.

Manufacturing ‘just leaves’ without investment, Albanese says

On whether the investment funding announcement today can keep the industry alive, Albanese says it is a “very specific investment”.

There was a previous investment by the former Labor government many years ago that allowed an upgrade of this facility. And you know what? Those 310 people who work here, and the more than 1,000 people whose jobs depend upon this – they pay taxes, they contribute to the economy, they create jobs in this local economy as well. This is about supporting our manufacturing.

He said without supporting manufacturing it “just leaves”, and said the former Coalition government “told the car industry to bugger off”.

And as a direct result, that had a multiplier effect as well, because when you have manufacturing, skills are learned off each other, there’s a flow-on effect both for the technology and also the skills.

Help-to-buy scheme ‘won’t be competing with investors’, PM says

Asked about whether the government’s help-to-buy scheme for first home buyers is “dangerous” or a risk when we could be headed into a global recession, Albanese says of the 150,000 people who have been through the system so far, there have been just three defaults.

So all of the same conditions, right, to get your borrowing still apply. The only difference is that the government effectively is guarantor for 15% of the loan. So we’re very confident.

When asked whether the houses being built will be offered at a lower market rate, especially for expensive cities like Sydney, the prime minister said:

They won’t be competing with investors. I can’t explain it more simply than that.

If you speak to young people about what is happening in auctions right around, if you exclude investors and keep things just for people who are first home buyers, it’s a gamechanger.

Josh Butler asks the PM about that diss track by the Liberal party, and Albanese says it was “drawn to my attention”.

Albanese says he’ll leave the party to explain their own campaign tactics but adds:

It’s beyond my comprehension, some of the things they’re doing in this campaign. I gotta say, there’s lots of really good Australian music around … I’ll leave it to others to say why they [Liberals] consistently just borrow cultures and ideas and policies from other places.

Butler also asks, more seriously, about whether Labor supports the Liberal’s policy for tax deductible mortgages for first home buyers.

Albanese says the policy (which he says he read in the AFR) was tried and abandoned by the Trump administration in the first term.

This is a policy that has never been supported, wasn’t supported by them the entire time that they were in government. They did nothing about housing. They helped create the problem for a decade.

PM rules out changes to native forest logging

On to questions, Albanese is asked about native forest logging, which he says there will be “no changes to” despite many Labor voters wanting to see an end to it.

We have no change to our native forestry policy because we don’t.

Then asked (by a newspaper journalist) whether its a risky idea to put this money into a business so closely tied to a “sunset industry like newspaper distribution”.

Albanese seems a little taken aback and says “good luck” explaining that to his team on Monday.

Good luck, on Monday, explaining that. I love picking up a paper. I love holding it. I love reading it. So do many Australians. And you know what? I think it’s important that it continue to exist.

Albanese demurs on whether Collins would keep agriculture portfolio

Earlier today, Albanese was asked whether Tanya Plibersek would hold her environment portfolio (Albanese wouldn’t directly answer), and now he’s been asked whether Tasmanian MP Julie Collins will keep her role as minister for agriculture and fisheries.

Albanese calls Collins a “fantastic cabinet minister” but again won’t confirm the portfolio.

Julie Collins is a fantastic cabinet minister, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We’re focused on 3 May. Julie Collins will always have my support because she’s a fantastic minister and she’s a great representative for Tasmania.

Fishing is a hot issue in Tasmania, as you might remember, the PM intervened with legislation in the final sitting week of this parliamentary term to protect salmon farming in Macquarie harbour.

Albanese announces $24m for Boyer paper mill for energy transition

The PM is standing up again, this time in Tasmania, at Boyer Paper Mill in the marginal seat of Lyons.

Anthony Albanese says he’s been talking about a “future made in Australia”, and he’s announcing $24m for the mill to decarbonise and help keep manufacturing jobs in Australia. Albanese says:

$9m of that over the next two years will be to ensure its financial viability, as this transition occurs upfront, so that they can decarbonise and to diversify its production. We’ll also provide up to $15m to match the company’s own investments in electrification that are occurring.

Albanese says the support will help them transition and to reduce their emissions and reduce their energy bills.

Major parties’ housing policies a ‘dumpster fire of dumb stuff’

Housing’s been the biggest story of the day, following the two leaders making major announcements during their campaign launches.

But there’s been some negative feedback from economists, who warn the policies could drive up housing prices.

On social media, economist Chris Richardson didn’t hold back when he called the policies a “dumpster fire of dumb stuff”. Ouch.

Dan Jervis-Bardy spoke to a few of those experts, and you can see what they said, and what impacts they believe the policies will have, here:

Plibersek asked about awkward moment with Albanese: ‘I should have done the elbow bump’

Tanya Plibersek’s media team have had to reissue a transcript from her appearance on Sunrise this morning (where she was asked about that awkward moment with Albanese from the weekend).

They initially left out some of the back and forth between Plibersek, host Natalie Barr – who asked if they were still buddies and still getting along – and fellow panellist Barnaby Joyce.

Here’s the full exchange from this morning:

The Seven Network will host the third and final leaders debate, at 8pm on Sunday 27 April.

The moderator for the debate between prime minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton will be Seven’s political editor, Mark Riley.

Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr will host the hour-long event, which will be followed by a special edition of Spotlight hosted by Michael Usher. Riley said:

Seven’s The Final Showdown is a proven and successful format that encourages free, frank, face-to-face debate to help our viewers make informed decisions about their votes.

It will be the most important night of this campaign – the candidates’ last chance before polling day to convince voters why they should lead the country.

On Wednesday, the ABC will host the second leaders debate from its new Parramatta site – the first to be held in an ABC studio since 1993.

The ABC, which is hosting the first free-to-air debate, will choose the topics and questions, with the event moderated by the Insiders host, David Speers.

Last week Sky News Australia hosted the first debate.

Albanese arrives in Tasmania

Anthony Albanese’s campaign has touched down in Tasmania. We’ve landed in Hobart, after leaving Adelaide earlier, en route to a media appearance north of the city.

We’re expecting the PM to make a local announcement and maybe give a short press conference. We’ll bring you more in about half an hour.