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Staying with nuclear, Anthony Albanese picked up on Peter Dutton’s reference to other countries who have implemented nuclear, and said they “wish” they had the natural resources Australia does.
What Keir Starmer has to deal with is the blow out in the costs of the Hinkley nuclear plant. It is now up to $90bn for one plant. It is coming in 14 years late and being built in a country that has a nuclear industry, by the world’s largest nuclear energy company, in France.
That shows exactly the problem and Keir Starmer wishes, as do so many people, that they had the access with the solar resources, with the wind resources, with the space that we have here in Australia, to have renewables backed by gas, backed by hydro and backed by batteries. That’s the future.
What do the leaders want to be remembered for?
The prime minister was asked what is one big change he would like to be remembered for? Anthony Albanese pointed to affordable childcare, and said:
We want the universal provision of affordable childcare so that it is as natural to have your child have access to childcare as it is to have access to a public school.
Peter Dutton was asked the same question, and pointed to creating an east coast gas reserve, and then went to nuclear:
We go beyond [gas], as you know, to deal with what firms up the renewables as we go forward, which is a vision that Bob Hawke had for our country, John Howard shared and I strongly believe in, a zero emissions nuclear technology, embraced by the Labour party in the United Kingdom, by the French, by many countries.
Albanese warns of cuts under Coalition to fund nuclear reactors
Anthony Albanese then interjected on this topic, and said:
That is before they get to the $600bn they need for their nuclear reactors … ‘Vote for me, trust us, we will tell you after the election.’
Last time the cuts came to health, education, $50bn out of hospitals, $30bn out of schools. That is why a decade later, we’re still trying to fix and repair the damage that was done by that 2014 budget.
Dutton side-steps question on which area of the public service he would cut
Peter Dutton was asked if the Coalition’s cuts to the public service are going to cover all its spending in this election? He said the “short answer is no.”
We won’t achieve all of the savings we need to achieve through our changes to the public service.
Asked to outline one area of the public service he would cut, Dutton did not answer the question directly but said:
There’s been a three-fold increase in the expansion of the public service compared to the Rudd-Gillard years. We have the highest per capita rate of public servants in the world, and our argument is if you have families working second, third jobs, working their guts out, paying tax, I want to make sure the taxpayer dollar is spent efficiently. My argument is that where you balloon the public service in Canberra, that is not an efficient use of taxpayer money.
He was pushed to answer directly, and said:
Where we find inefficiency. It’s not something you can do from opposition to redesign the public service, it’s not the way that works.
PM defends the fact energy rebates aren’t means tested
Anthony Albanese was asked about the energy rebates Labor is promising, and why these aren’t means tested? He responded:
Because of the way it is delivered through the energy companies, you either give it to everyone or just to concession card holders. We understand a whole lot of working people need that assistance in cost of living. That is why this is our third increase in energy rebates that we’ve put forward, that’s why we have done it.
Would the leaders support longer rental agreements?
Asked if he would be willing to give renters certainty with longer rentals, Peter Dutton said this was an issue for the states.
I’m happy to support sensible reforms. As you pointed out, it’s for the states. The focus on this election who is better to fix the housing crisis this government created.
Would Anthony Albanese put pressure on the states to give renters more certainty? He responded:
We delivered a renters’ rights program in agreement with states and territories that improved the rights of people renting and, in addition, increased maximum rental assistance by 45% in this term.
He took aim at the Coalition’s super for housing policy and said this “does nothing for supply” and would “bid up prices as it did in New Zealand”.
Albanese says Labor didn’t commission modelling on negative gearing
Anthony Albanese said Peter Dutton’s suggestion that the housing crisis is something that developed in the last two years is “nonsense”.
Everyone watching this program knows that this has been developing for a long period of time. We have not had enough homes been built. The former government did not bother to have a housing minister for half the time they were in office. What we’ve done since we came to office, is look towards the big issue which is supply.
Asked why Labor isn’t willing to touch negative gearing or the capital gains tax discount, the PM said:
The experts say that what that potentially [would] do is is diminish supply, not increase it. That’s why the key to fixing the housing issues is supply.
Dutton pointed out that Labor had done modelling on this. Asked if modelling was done, the Albanese answered:
It certainly wasn’t commissioned by us to do so.
Dutton said this was public information and accused the PM of having “a problem with the truth”.
Watch more on this topic here:
Will the major parties’ housing policies increase prices?
The first question is on housing, with each leader asked if their plan would make housing any more affordable in five or 10 years, or simply push prices higher?
Anthony Albanese said Labor had a plan “not just for demand but for supply”, pointing to the Housing Australia Future Fund.
We need to do both. We need to particularly give young people a fair crack … The key is supply. That’s why only Labor is offering a plan at this election to increase supply of housing.
Peter Dutton, speaking next, pointed to migration as the issue, accusing Labor of bringing “in people, all of who want homes and competing with younger Australians to purchase a home or a rental property”.
He pointed to the Coalition’s $5bn fund to “bring on 500,000 new home lots.”
That is on the supply side a very significant benefit. The second part is we reduce migration by 25%, so that we can allow the housing stock to be built up again and by doing that – as well as stopping foreigners for two years from purchasing Australian homes – we give young Australians a go.
Albanese says he’s ‘optimistic about Australia’s future’ in opening remarks
The PM began by saying he feels “optimistic about Australia’s future if we seize the opportunities that are right in front of us”.
We have inflation that is down, real wages that are up. We have unemployment that is very low at just 4.1% and interest rates have started to fall – they started to rise before the last election. But we know there is much more to do …
Anthony Albanese pointed to strengthening Medicare and fee-free Tafe, and said:
We know we live in difficult times. I am very confident that with the right leadership we can see it through.
Dutton gives opening remarks
Peter Dutton won the coin toss and is first to give his opening remarks. He begins with a common Coalition quip – “are you better off today than you were three years ago?”
As I have spoken to thousands of Australians, young families, pensioners, people in small businesses, it’s obvious to me that people don’t feel better off.
People have faced an existential cost-of-living crisis. People have seen food prices go up by 30%. Their mortgages have gone up on 12 occasions.
Our plan is to get our country back on track to help young Australians realise the dream of home ownership again, to make sure we can help manage the economy so we can get inflation down.
Debate begins
The second leaders debate between Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton is now kicking off, hosted by David Speers at the ABC’s Parramatta studios.
The prime minister and opposition leader begin the night with a handshake and are standing at two podiums.
Tasmanian Labor drops its own diss track following Coalition’s ‘Leaving Labor’
Before we jump into the debate, let’s go to Tasmania, where the campaign diss track madness is (unfortunately) continuing.
In case you missed it: on Monday, the Liberals released a “diss track” titled Leaving Labor – a homage to the viral feud between rap rivals Kendrick Lamar and Drake. The lyrics were critical of Labor’s record on the cost of living, claiming the economy was “looking a mess” and that “eggs and cheese” cost $100.
Now, the Tasmanian Labor branch has hit back with a diss track of its own, shared on TikTok and Instagram. It started with:
Your diss track was mid, why’d we have to wait three years for it? It’s election time now, and you’re still full of … No plan, no clue, just more of the same.
If you’re dying to listen to the rest of the track, you can do so below:
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Pro-Palestine protesters gather outside ABC studios ahead of debate
Pro-Palestinian protesters have been gathering outside the ABC studios in Parramatta, ahead of tonight’s leaders debate.
Here are some photos that have been filtering through from AAP:
Experts question whether tonight’s showdown will shift votes
Anthony Albanese was judged the winner of the first leaders’ debate, a Sky News-hosted people’s forum in which a crowd of average voters posed questions on topics ranging from housing and the fuel excise to GP costs and the Gaza conflict.
Leaders’ debates are a feature of each campaign, billed – particularly by the host broadcaster – as make-or-break moments capable of turning the campaign. But campaign veterans have differing opinions as to how decisive the set-piece events actually are.
For more on this, you can read Dan Jervis-Bardy’s story below:
Both leaders arrive at ABC Parramatta studio for the debate
Both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have arrived at the ABC studio in Parramatta, ready for tonight’s debate.
Welcome to the second leaders' debate
Emily Wind
Good evening and welcome to our live blog for the second leaders’ debate as part of the federal election campaign. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be taking you through all the action tonight.
The ABC will host tonight’s debate between Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton from its new Parramatta site – the first to be held in an ABC studio since 1993. The debate will kick off at 8pm AEST.
The ABC will choose the topics and questions, with the event moderated by the Insiders host David Speers.
Following a more traditional debate style, the prime minister and opposition leader will each present opening and closing remarks, and be granted equal time to respond to questions.
The debate will be broadcast free on ABC TV, iview, ABC Radio and the ABC listen app. And, of course, I’ll bring you all the key takeaways right here.
For more on tonight’s debate – as well as previous and future debates – you can have a read below:
