TRANSCRIPT:
The leaders of both major parties have locked horns in a second leaders debate hosted by the A-B-C.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton framed his pitch to voters around a familiar question.
"Are you better off today than you were three years ago?"
His answer:
"As I've moved around the country and spoken to literally thousands of Australians - young families, pensioners, people in small businesses - it's been obvious to me that people don't feel better off."
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that's not true - and he has an optimistic vision for Australia's future.
He says Labor will cut taxes, boost manufacturing, strengthen healthcare, slash student debt by 20 per cent and lower the deposit required from first home buyers to five per cent.
"We're turning the corner. We have inflation that's down. We have real wages that are up. We have unemployment that's very low at just four point one percent, and interest rates have started to fall. They started to rise before the last election. But we know that there's much more work to do. And that's why we have a plan."
Housing was the first major issue canvassed in the debate, and it got the most time, off the back of a string of centrepiece policies unveiled in recent days.
Host David Speers asked about economist analysis that suggests both parties' policies could raise house prices.
Anthony Albanese says the government's plan would not make things worse.
"We have a comprehensive $43 billion Homes for Australia plan, making sure, whether it's about increased social housing, increased private rentals or increased home ownership, as well for our Help to Buy scheme, that will all assist. The key of course, is supply, and that's why only Labor is offering a plan at this election, to increase supply of housing."
Peter Dutton has blamed high house prices on recent spikes in immigration.
He says the Coalition is proposing a $5 billion fund to identify land releases that are being stalled by a lack of infrastructure like sewage or roads, and also to reduce migration by 25 per cent for two years, while preventing foreigners from buying houses during that time.
Another key plank of Coalition policy to support first home owners is that -
"For the first six hundred fifty thousand dollar of your mortgage that will be interest that you could claim against your income. So for an average couple that will be about 11 or $12,000, a year over five."
Both leaders shut down the prospect of reform to negative gearing, seen by many as the elephant in the room of Australia's housing debate.
But the other elephant looming large has been Donald Trump.
Peter Dutton was asked if he trusts him:
DUTTON: "Well, we trust the United States and I don't know the President, I've not met him, the Prime Minister, obviously, has been able to.”
SPEERS: “So you're not willing to say you trust Donald Trump?”
DUTTON: “I don't know Donald Trump, is my point. My point is that who I trust is the Australian people and my job is to stand up for our country's interests."
Anthony Albanese has been equally diplomatic.
"I have no reason not to. I've had a couple of discussions with him. In the last discussion, we agreed on a series of words that he would give consideration, great consideration was the words that he used, and he did that. In the end, he made a decision as part of the US administration to put these tariffs on every country. We got the lowest amount but we made it very clear that that was an act of self harm by the United States."
On the topic of international relations, Mr Dutton was forced into an awkward admission of fault during the debate after previously refusing to back down on his erroneous claim that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto publicly announced a request by Russia to host military aircraft on Indonesian territory.
Peter Dutton says he was in error.
"It was a mistake."
But the Opposition Leader maintained that the Prime Minister was caught unawares.
"What we've seen in the last 12 hours or so is that the Russian envoy to Indonesia has confirmed that there have been discussions, and obviously there is a concerning closeness in that relationship. And I think the main point here is that the Prime Minister knew nothing of it."
The Prime Minister jumped on his opponent's admission.
ALBANESE: "Peter say why didn't we know something that didn't exist, and what didn't exist, and Indonesia has confirmed, (is) the idea of a base being used by the Russian Air Force in West Papua."
SPEERS: "Do you accept that Mr Dutton?"
DUTTON: "No, I don't, I don't accept that. I think the Prime Minister's full of bluster here."
Mr Albanese says Australia has a strong relationship with Indonesia.
"The idea that you just throw out these comments, is just extraordinary. And the fact that we just saw a double down on it as if there's nothing to see here just shows that there's no understanding of the need for diplomacy."
Asked to name a major economic reform he'd most like to be remembered for, Mr Dutton pointed to structural changes in energy markets, starting with a gas reservation and later strengthened by nuclear plants.
"Energy is the economy, David. Everything we use, everything around us is either running or has been created because of the use of energy, farming, fertilizer, cold storage. Everything that we rely on in our society, in a modern society like ours relies on energy."
Anthony Albanese pointed to affordable childcare as his big-vision reform, saying Labor secured a three-day guarantee for parents in its first term.
"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."
