Jim Chalmers ‘doesn’t need advice’ ahead of debate with Angus Taylor, PM says
The prime minister was also asked if he had any advice for the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, ahead of tonight’s debate, and said:
Jim Chalmers doesn’t need advice to debate Angus Taylor, with respect …
I saw the interview that Angus Taylor had with Billi FitzSimons. I did see that online during a flight, and my goodness, Billi FitzSimons really towelled him up, towelled up the facts that he got wrong.
A reminder that we’ll be bringing you the treasurers’ debate live right here on the blog – I’ll bring you more details on this soon.
Key events
Dutton claims Albanese has ‘sympathy’ for Greens policies
Peter Dutton was asked to weigh in on the Greens’ policies outlined today at the National Press Club – including changes to negative gearing – and said:
There is an enormous amount of sympathy in Anthony Albanese’s leftwing government for the sorts of things that Adam Bandt is putting on the table. I think he would get a receptive hearing to all of the impacts, as you point out, to Forestry, etc, from the Labor party, because that’s what Tanya Plibersek believes. And Anthony Albanese is the most left-leaning prime minister or leader of the Labor party since Gough Whitlam, and he has a natural sympathy for these arguments as well.
At a press conference just this afternoon, the PM clearly ruled out changes to negative gearing (see post) and any deals with the Greens (see post).
But still, Dutton claimed on Sky News:
The prime minister will jump into bed with the Greens after the election if it means that that’s what he has to do to get into government.
Dutton reacts to outcome of last night’s leaders’ debate
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has been speaking with Sky News this evening – and was asked about the outcome of last night’s debate.
Anthony Albanese won 44 votes out of 100, Dutton won 35 and 21 people remained undecided.
Dutton suggested that not all voters were as undecided as they claimed, saying:
It was a great audience. And, look, I thought it was a really free-flowing conversation. I suspect there were some people in the audience who probably weren’t as swinging as they might have made out to be, but that’s OK.
Henry Belot
Private dinner fundraiser with Scott Yung and Tony Abbott cancelled
A private dinner fundraiser with the Liberal candidate for Bennelong, Scott Yung, and former prime minister, Tony Abbott, has been cancelled.
Invitations seen by Guardian Australia show the private dinner event at Le Montage – which describes itself as a “luxurious venue that embodies resort-style, noir and designer characteristics” – was scheduled to be held on 24 April.
The event was a federal fundraiser for the Bennelong Forum. It is not known why the event was cancelled and Yung, the Coalition and Abbott have been contacted for comment.
Yung held a similar dinner fundraising event with former prime minister John Howard on budget night last month. Tickets were $220 a head according to invites.
Bennelong is held by the Labor MP Jerome Laxale with a margin of just 0.1%.
Albanese rules out deal with Greens and refers to ‘previous 324 answers’
Wrapping up the press conference, Anthony Albanese was against asked whether Labor would make any preference deals with the Greens?
I’m asked about it every day. Very clearly, those things are a matter for the organisational wing.
What I’m responsible for is what the parliamentary party does. What we do is we will seek to be a majority government. We won’t negotiate with the Greens before, during, after the election, about those matters.
I’ve been very clear about that. I’ve been clear about that for a decade, and I refer you to my previous 324 answers.
PM takes aim at Coalition gas policy and ‘cookers’ in ‘his party room’
Just back tracking a little bit: earlier in Anthony Albanese’s press conference, he took aim at the Coalition’s gas policy and said:
There’s a bit of talk today about gas from Peter Dutton. Well, you know, he doesn’t need gas for his cookers. If he wants to find cookers, he can look at his party room, it’s full of it.
He got rid of the Whitlam candidate. Now another one has problems. This guy here is a shocker and people shouldn’t vote for him.
Jim Chalmers ‘doesn’t need advice’ ahead of debate with Angus Taylor, PM says
The prime minister was also asked if he had any advice for the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, ahead of tonight’s debate, and said:
Jim Chalmers doesn’t need advice to debate Angus Taylor, with respect …
I saw the interview that Angus Taylor had with Billi FitzSimons. I did see that online during a flight, and my goodness, Billi FitzSimons really towelled him up, towelled up the facts that he got wrong.
A reminder that we’ll be bringing you the treasurers’ debate live right here on the blog – I’ll bring you more details on this soon.
PM firmly rules out any negative gearing changes
Anthony Albanese also ruled out any changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, saying:
Yes! How hard is it? For the 50th time.
Albanese on Trump’s ‘arse-kissing’ comments
A reporter asked about comments from Donald Trump that he’s sick of world leaders calling him “kissing his arse” – is Anthony Albanese now feeling vindicated for not calling him, as Peter Dutton has suggested?
Albanese said he hadn’t seen the comments from Trump but “that’s not the way I deal with leaders”.
I deal as an equal with countries that I engage with. I had a discussion with Keir Starmer on Friday night … the two conversations I’ve had with President Trump are ones in which I stand up for Australia’s national interest and I will always do that.
Albanese spoke with Dutton ahead of last night’s debate after news of father’s heart attack broke
Anthony Albanese said he spoke with Peter Dutton ahead of last night’s debate, after he heard news the opposition leader’s father had suffered a heart attack.
We had a private discussion. I wished him well and, of course, I wish – and I’m sure all Australians wish – his father well at this difficult time.
Peter is obviously very busy campaigning and that’s understandable, but of course, our health and the health of family members always comes first.
Dutton told reporters earlier today that his father is doing well, and is a “tough old bugger” so “he’ll be fine”.
Albanese addressing reporters in Cairns
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has been speaking to reporters from Cairns in Queensland.
A local reporter asked if the government would intervene in the sale of Cairns airport to make sure it stays Australian-owned – pointing to similar moves with the Port of Darwin.
Albanese said the Cairns airport was an “important asset” but that governments “only intervene in terms of ownership if there is market failure”.
We’ll await that process. If there’s any bids, there’s a need to go through the Foreign Investment Review Board.
I’ll tell you what we’re not doing is doing what the commonwealth government did under the former government, which is to provide a cash incentive to flog off assets. That’s what occurred with Darwin port.
Paterson says Trump’s tariffs on Australia ‘completely unjustified and should be abandoned’
Moving to the US, James Paterson was asked about Donald Trump’s suggestion that pharmaceutical experts from the US are likely to be hit with tariffs.
He said this would be “very concerning if it was true”.
It would be doubling down on the wrong policy the president has adopted so far with tariffs towards Australia … I would hope the president would recognise the damage that has been done by this policy so far, to stock markets around the world and the troubling predictions of a recession in the United States – or even globally and here in Australia – and recognise that this is not worked as intended and change course.
He can set the trade policy for the United States but I would say at least in respect to Australia, it’s completely unjustified and should be abandoned and I would not welcome in any way any sort of tariff on pharmaceutical exports either.
Paterson defends savings outlined in Coalition gas policy modelling
Sticking with the Coalition’s gas policy: host Patricia Karvelas noted that for households it’s a 3% reduction – aka $50 a year, and a reduction of a dollar a week.
That’s not very much, is it, she asked?
James Paterson turned the spotlight back on Labor, and pointed to energy price increases over the past three years:
Imagine how much more it will increase in their second term if they’re successful. We’re saying we can bring down prices.
Karvelas said the Coalition had “mocked the idea of not much money in tax cuts, but you think a dollar a week for a gas reduction is enough?”
Paterson answered that “I’m not sure what else you’re suggesting we do here,” and also pointed to the Coalition’s nuclear plan:
We’ve got immediate relief that will be tangible and far bigger than Labor’s tax cut in terms of petrol tax relief, and over time that will drive lower prices through reduced gas prices – and also by transitioning our energy system into a nuclear-powered, emissions-free energy system.
Paterson claims gas prices will be lower under Coalition policy
The shadow home affairs minister and Coalition campaign spokesperson, James Paterson, is also up on ABC Afternoon Briefing – asked to clarify when households will see the full benefit of the gas price reduction?
He argued the benefits would “start to flow initially as soon as the policy is introduced.”
We’ll sit down with the gas companies early on after we’re elected, if we’re successful at the election, to make it clear we expect them to supply the domestic market.
We’ll introduce legislation to drive that gas back into the domestic market and benefits will start to flow – but they won’t all come straightaway.
Paterson was pushed for a timeline but said “I can’t give you the precise day”, continuing:
We can’t fix it on day one. Labor has done a lot of damage to our energy system. We will start to work straightaway and the benefits will flow throughout our first term.
Will people see any impact this year? Paterson said “I think they will,” and claimed “gas prices will be down under us through this policy.”
‘We aren’t doing it’: Labor minister rules out negative gearing changes
Ed Husic was also asked about Adam Bandt’s speech today, where he announced the Greens would insist on changes to the negative gearing tax breaks if there is a hung parliament.
Why not revisit these ideas? Husic said it was “simple” – the prime minister has ruled it out.
We aren’t doing it. So from our point of view, that’s the end of the story.
We believe that in tackling housing affordability, the biggest thing we need to do is to be able to improve supply, increase supply.
Husic took aim at Bandt for “teaming” up with Dutton to block legislation in the Senate, and said:
You’ll have to forgive me, I’m not necessarily rushing to embrace an idea that Adam Bandt has on housing affordability because he’s decided now he wants to make it a priority. When we needed him and he could have helped and we could have got things moving quicker, he really wasn’t there.
Husic argues Coalition gas policy needs to be looked at ‘sceptically’ as he labels Dutton a ‘fake and a flake’
Ed Husic was also asked about the Coalition’s gas plan – to create a domestic gas reservation for the east coast – after long-awaited modelling was released today:
Weighing in on the policy, Husic argued you have to “take what they’re saying sceptically.”
It doesn’t take them long to backtrack and, you know, policy-cordial offerings that we wait to be watered down by the Coalition at some point. They’re not going to stand by them. You have to take what they’re saying sceptically.
When it comes to gas, Peter Dutton is hot air. He’s a fake and a flake on this stuff.
When we needed him to stand with us to cap gas prices back in 2022, he didn’t do what Labor and Liberal premiers at the time did, regardless of politics … The only person who opposed us – Peter Dutton and the Liberal party.
Husic continued, arguing the Coalition “can’t even have a policy they take into the election survive a couple of days before they change it.”
Husic says Australia has to be ‘prepared’ and ‘think ahead’ amid potential future tariffs
Asked how Australia can prevent further tariffs from the United States, Ed Husic said the key was to “think ahead as a nation”.
It is why you saw the prime minister announce last week an economic resilience package, including … a $1bn manufacturing retooling fund … I have also taken the step of asking the anti-dumping commission to take a much closer look at the prospect of material being dumped in Australia, in an effort to side-step the impact of the tariffs as well.
Husic said there was “no point speculating on other tariffs, where they’re going to go, how they’re going to behave in terms of the US.”
You can see these things will just continue. We have to be prepared. That’s what we’re doing as a government.
Husic responds to interaction between US senators over tariffs on Australia
The industry minister, Ed Husic, has labelled Donald Trump’s tariffs as “enormously counter-productive and not in anyone’s interest”.
Speaking to ABC Afternoon Briefing this afternoon, Husic responded to a video from the US, where Democratic senator Mark Warner slammed the 10% tariffs on Australian imports as “insulting” and “ridiculous.”
Asked what he made of the comments, Husic joked:
I reckon I might see if I can get an honorary Order of Australia for Senator Warner. Good on him. I like the cut of his jib.
The minister said Warner was right to point to Australia’s trade surplus with the US, and the close relationship between the two countries, and said:
Everyone will lose from what the Trump administration is doing here. It is senseless and counter-productive.
How should Australia respond, then, if the US think they’re running the score? Husic said the US shouldn’t “be engaged in further action against a friend like Australia”.
