Transcript of Press Conference - Liberal Party of Australia
Topics: Cost of Living, Housing, Labor's Taxes, Shadow Ministry
E&OE.
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
It's great to be here in Goulburn, with Jane Hume, talking to a young family, Grant and Georgia, about the challenges for them in paying the bills, in owning a home, paying the mortgage every month, and getting by, which is incredibly difficult right now. And we've also been talking to a local builder about the huge reduction we've seen in the number of new houses coming on because it's just got too hard to build a house and to find someone who can take that on.
My top priority as the new leader, and Jane's as well, is to protect Australians' way of life and to restore their standard of living. And right at the heart of that is owning a home. Owning a home has always been an essential part of the Australian ideal, of the Australian journey, of what young Australians do as they start a family.
It's an essential part of being part of this great nation. It's an essential part of being able to build wealth, but also stability for a growing family. And that's what we were just talking to Grant and Georgia about. But it is getting too hard.
Young Australians are giving up hope. Builders are giving up hope that they can find a market for their houses because the costs and times involved are just too great.
And young families who do have a home and have a mortgage, in some cases, are giving up or having to take on second jobs just to be able to make ends meet. This is unacceptable.
This Labor Government is making life harder for young Australians, Australians wanting to buy a home because it's just got too expensive to make ends meet.
Interest rates are going up, inflation is surging, and now they're talking about putting an additional tax on the home.
If you want more homes, if you want more homes, we don't need another tax. But that's what Labor is proposing to do.
We will fight this tax. We will fight bad taxes from a bad Labor Government that's making life harder for Australians. Jane, over to you.
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Thanks, Gus. Grant and Georgia are an amazing couple. They work really hard, two jobs each. They have two young kids who spend time at daycare and at preschool, but they can't seem to get ahead.
They bought this fabulous house back in 2020, and now they're even considering selling it and downsizing it just to make ends meet. That's because interest rates have gone up 13 times under Labor.
They've gone up 13 times because inflation keeps going up. That dragon has not been tamed. It makes it really hard when Grant and Georgia get those bills every month.
We saw their electricity bill, which they say has gone up by about 40 per cent since they bought this house. They've got childcare expenses, they've gone up, and they've got rates as well. We want families like Grant and Georgia's to get a chance to get ahead.
We want families like Grant and Georgia to be able to say, next year is going to be better than this year. Maybe we can wind back one of those additional jobs. Maybe, Georgia, you can go and study and stop doing that second job that she's taken on.
But it's hard for Australians right now because this government has really let them down. A Liberal coalition government will focus on families just like Grant and Georgia's, making sure that they have that chance to get ahead, that they have a chance for a brighter future, both them and for their kids.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, it's one thing to talk about all of these problems. The Opposition has been talking about these sorts of problems for a long time before you came to the job. These are big economic challenges. What are your big solutions?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
We are up to fighting for Australians when it comes to these big economic challenges because they're hurting Australians, and that's exactly what we've heard.
But we do need to put downward pressure on inflation and interest rates. That means we need to be prudent in government spending. We don't need waste. We have seen waste from this government, and we're continuing to see waste from this government.
We need to make it easier for builders and others right across Australia to do their jobs. If we're going to have more homes, we've got to make it easier to build homes.
It's really not that complicated, but Labor is making it harder to build homes. More red tape, more regulation, more regulators. That's not what we need right now.
We need an economy where people can get out and do things, invest in building a house, invest in building their businesses, and if we make it easier for them to do that, it's going to make it easier to own a home. And that's the key.
JOURNALIST:
You say you're going to fight the tax. I'm assuming you're talking about any possible changes to capital gains tax?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
That's right.
JOURNALIST:
Some economists argue it would cool house price growth, house price inflation. Isn't that the desirable outcome?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
You know, there's a pretty simple principle of economics: if you tax something more, you get less of it. If you make it more expensive, you get less of it. It's the same for houses.
If you whack another tax on homes, you're going to get less homes. It's very simple. And Labor doesn't get it, because Labor has run out of money. So they're coming after yours.
JOURNALIST:
Doesn't the capital gains tax help property investors with 10, 20 homes rather than first home buyers, I'm assuming you're looking to appeal to as opposition leader?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
You can overcomplicate this. If you put an extra tax on something, you get less of it.
And we need more homes, not less. If we're going to have more affordability, we need more supply, more homes. That's the key.
Jim Chalmers doesn't get this. And that's why Australians are seeing with him as Treasurer and Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister, it's getting harder to pay the bills. It's getting harder to buy a home.
It's getting harder to run a business. And it's just getting harder to make ends meet. And we're going to fight. Jane and I and our team are going to fight every single day for those hard-working Australians who are trying to get ahead, who believe in the Australian ideal and are giving up hope. Well, they shouldn't give up hope, because we're here to fight for them.
JOURNALIST:
So that's one policy they're opposing, the capital gains tax changes. When are we going to see any other kind of solid policies from you? Can you give us a bit of a timetable? We've been waiting for the immigration policy for a long time. When are we seeing policies?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, I think you've heard some strong comments from me in the last 24 hours on immigration. Immigration, clearly the numbers have been too high and the standards have been too low.
But we also need an immigration policy that's true to our Australian values. If people want to come to this country and bring the hatred and violence of another place, the doors should be shut.
We'll continue to announce our priorities and policies over the coming weeks and months. But I think these are important messages that we're going to continue to convey.
And most importantly, we're going to fight a bad Labor government who's been getting these things wrong.
JOURNALIST:
What about the seat of Farrer? You're obviously going to be fighting a by-election in the not-too-distant future. It's looking like it's turning out to be a four-cornered contest. That's a lot of people to be fighting against. Are you confident that Liberals will be able to retain that seat?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, it's never going to be easy. We've got a popular local member leaving. That always makes it challenging. And we know that our starting point as leaders of the party is the worst the party's been in since 1944. So we're realistic about this.
But we've got to restore confidence of voters across Australia, including in Farrer, in us and in the Coalition, to fight for them. And that's what we're going to do, as I say, every single day. We're going to be focused on their challenges and the failures of this government to meet their challenges.
JOURNALIST:
Will it be a measuring stick of your leadership? If you can win the Farrah by-election, you'll be going up against One Nation and Climate 200. They've already both said they're going to run. How do you fight both the left and right flank?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
Well, of course it's challenging. I mean, I've been the first to say, I said it yesterday, that Farrer, competing in Farrer, will be challenging. We've got a popular local member leaving. It will be a cast of many. I don't know how many, but a cast of many, obviously.
But we're going to be out there fighting for our values, what we believe in. And we are absolutely committed to moving away from the politics of convenience to the politics of conviction.
We need to demonstrate to Australians that we stand for the values that Australians stand for, that we'll fight to protect their way of life, to restore their way of living, at a time when they feel those things are under threat.
JOURNALIST:
This is one perhaps for Jane. Obviously, we're in a regional part of Australia now, but one of the main challenges for the Liberals is going to be winning back those city voters. What's your pitch to them in terms of bringing back their confidence to the Liberal Party that they actually do stand for the interests of city voters as well?
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
You know, it doesn't matter whether you're in the city or whether you're in the country. Families are feeling the same pain right around the country. That's because the promise of a Labor government has come to naught.
It's getting harder and harder to find a house to buy and harder and harder to find a house to rent. People are seeing their bills go up, doesn't matter if it's the city or the country.
Grant and Georgia's story is not an unusual one: 40% rises in energy bills and potentially another 24% forecast for this year. 13 interest rate rises because inflation is still out of control. We were talking about going to the supermarket today.
Every time you fill up that trolley, every time you fill up your basket, it's just that little bit more. Families are looking for an opportunity to get ahead. They want to know that next year is going to be better than last year.
It doesn't matter whether you're in the city or in the country. It doesn't matter whether you're regional and rural and remote or whether you're right in the heart of a CBD. We want families to get ahead, to have brighter days ahead of them, and we want them to see that in the Liberal Party's and the Coalition's offerings.
Because let's face it, it's a Coalition that represents all Australians, not sectional interests.
JOURNALIST:
Angus, what's your thinking around the shadow ministry? When would you like to get that out? Will you reward people that voted for you or will you reward performers like Andrew Bragg, Tim Wilson? And if I can ask you, Jane, have you decided what portfolio you'd like yet?
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
I'll start and then Jane can add to it. Look, can I say, we've got a lot of talented people in the Liberal Party.
And what we need right now is everyone pulling together to work hard for hard-working Australians who are struggling. And I'm going to be putting a great team on the field. And we have a great team to put on the field.
This is the important point. And they're going to be fighting hard for Australians every single day.
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION:
I haven't spoken to Angus about that yet. But I can assure you that the position, whatever position I take, will be one that allows me to best represent our party, our party's values and our party's priorities.
ENDS.
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