Radio interview - KIIS 973 Brisbane

HOST: Right now, we've got the Prime Minister on the phone. G'day Albo.

HOST: Albo!

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: G'day. How you going?

HOST: Good mate. Now, I don't know if you've been prepped for this, but on the release of the, of the Budget. Was it last week? I think it was the Budget last week, but Corey Oates, our own football expert, was able to decipher the budget and put it into footy parlances. So, please enjoy Corey's take on the Budget.

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COREY OATES, HOST: It's Corey Oates here with the Budget recap and I'll explain it in the only way I understand - footy. Last night, the Treasurer ran out like it was an Origin decider. Big crowd, big promises, but a few players just didn't quite stick. New tax cuts are coming. It's like a sneaky little chip and chase. Looks unreal when it comes off, but if the ball doesn't sit up, you just look like an idiot while everyone else boos. Inflation. Still hanging around like a fullback who refused to make a tackle. Every time you think you've broken through, bang, you get dragged back. Energy rebates. That's the trainer running on with the water bottle. Good short term fix, but still cramping up five minutes later. And the surplus? It's equivalent to how many games the Dragons have won this year, which is none. The deficit. That's like playing Penrith, looking up at the scoreboard 20 minutes in and you're down 80-nil. Final verdict? Solid first half. A few handling errors and we'll need to go to the video ref to decide if it's actually a win. If you need actual facts, I recommend listening to anybody else.

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PRIME MINISTER: That is very, very good.

HOST: Was the end part the most accurate?

PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely. Listen to anyone else. Don't listen to a winger. That's like listening to a winger go upstairs and ask for a review.

HOST: Yeah, that's true.

PRIME MINISTER: Wingers and prop forwards -

HOST: Never let the wingers, never let the winger challenge -

PRIME MINISTER: Allowed to have a review.

HOST: But you, you are getting plenty of challenges at the moment over the Budget, particularly on negative gearing. I think that's been the one that I've heard most in the headlines because it was a promise that you weren't going to change the laws. But you have. So, how does that sit? I mean, it feels like a lie to me.

PRIME MINISTER: No, look, we changed our position. You've got to be upfront about that. And just like, you know, you've got to change your position sometimes in a, in a footy game if things aren't working. And the truth is that the housing system isn't working for young people. They're more and more getting frozen out by a system that doesn't give them a fair crack. So, what we've done though is to quarantine any changes. So, if you've got a negatively geared property, no change to your arrangements. But in future, negative gearing will only be allowed for new builds. And what that's about is making sure that as well as investing in yourself and your future assets and your future wealth, you'll be investing in the future assets and future wealth of the country as well by boosting supply. We've got to build more homes. So, we're throwing everything at it.

HOST: I agree with that.

HOST: Yeah. So, you want, you don't want people to obviously invest in the, in the older homes and the ones that have been pre-built. You want them to put money into the land that's free, build brand new homes, then you can get that Capital Gains. But also there's more housing getting built because of the investors, that's the best way for them to go forward?

PRIME MINISTER: That's exactly right, mate. I take everything back. You can do the Budget summary.

HOST: I blacked out. What did I say? I don't remember. Was it good?

HOST: We just had a moment.

PRIME MINISTER: Exactly right. And the other thing is, look, I'm sure that, you know, young people who have turned up, they're trying to get into their first home and they're there at the auction and they get outbid by the bloke next to them because the bloke next to them is an investor, and they know if they go that extra 20 grand more, then that's money off their tax, they claim back.

HOST: Yeah.

HOST: Are you sure it's going to work? Are you sure it's going to work, Albo? Because we've got this, we've got a pretty good test pattern over in New Zealand. They did the same thing in 2021 and it's been a colossal failure. In fact, it ended up being the thing that ousted Jacinda Arden. Many people would argue is that they wound it back, it failed, rents went up, values went down, nobody won. So -

PRIME MINISTER: So, no, what, what we're doing here is this is just one measure in a whole range of comprehensive measures. So, I'll tell you what's working, for example, is we've got five per cent deposits for first home buyers. 250,000 people have got into their first home as a direct result of that, just since we came to office. So, that's working. The Housing Australia Future Funds building new social housing and affordable housing that is working as well. We've got a scheme called Help to Buy, which you can basically partner up with the government for a portion of your house. So, if you're earning, if you're buying a place worth, you know, $500,000, a unit, and you can only afford, you know, $400,000 instead, the government essentially will own 20 per cent of that home and then you can pay it back later on when you're in a stronger financial position. So, we're throwing absolutely everything at this because I don't want for the generation who are listening to this program and the ones to come to be the first generation that basically give up on housing. And that essentially is why we've changed our position, because people, more and more, people were getting to the point of saying, 'I'm never going to have that security that comes with a roof over your own head'. And, you know, that is the great Australian dream. And it is a, yeah, it's a tough call. It was a big call for us to make. We could sit back and just watch things just continue as they were, or we could have the ticker to take the ball up in Rugby League -

HOST: Look at you go.

PRIME MINISTER: Take the hit up and we, we expected to get - it was a bit like a hit up of a kickoff. We expected the incoming.

HOST: Yeah, it's the first tackle in Origin, mate.

HOST: You've got to get creamed -

HOST: And we should say the reason why you wanted to talk to us is because it's a big anniversary for you today.

PRIME MINISTER: It is. It is four years since I was elected Prime Minister. 21st of May. It was a big night at the Hurlstone Park RSL that night, I tell you.

HOST: What do you remember of it, Albo?

HOST: Like when Queensland won the State of Origin all those times.

PRIME MINISTER: It was a bit like instead of Mad Monday, it was like a Mad Saturday night. But it was, it was a big deal. We'd been in Opposition for a long time, almost a decade, so -

HOST: Well, congratulations, mate. And, and can, can we say bad luck to you on Wednesday night State of Origin?

HOST: Oh, yeah, sorry mate, I can't be, I can't support you.

HOST: No matter what political party you're on. We're against you. I'm sorry.

PRIME MINISTER: I'm a bit, I'm a bit nervous. Well, tomorrow I'm going to open the St George Illawarra Centre of Excellence down at Wollongong.

HOST: Is that an ironic name?

PRIME MINISTER: They're doing it, they're doing it so tough -

HOST: They're taking the piss.

PRIME MINISTER: I hope for a great club day -

HOST: Yeah.

PRIME MINISTER: They can turn it around.

HOST: I agree. Thanks. Yeah, I do agree. Thanks Albo.

HOST: Thanks Albo.