Key events
Coalition pledges to let first home buyers deduct mortgage payments from taxes
The ABC is reporting that the Coalition has pledged that if elected, first time buyers of newly built homes would be able to deduct mortgage payments from income taxes.
The policy would mean a family on average incomes would be about $11,000 a year better off – or $55,000 over five years.
This comes as Labor has announced a $10bn plan to help build 100,000 homes for first home buyers.
We’ll bring you more details and commentary on this throughout the day as we learn more.
Josh Butler
Albanese tells Australian UFC fighter to ‘go hard’ in message of support before headline match
Some Australians will be glued to a brutal fight between two battle-hardened competitors duking it out in a no-holds barred street fight televised today across the land. And it’s sure to get ugly.
And then, once the Liberal and Labor campaign launches are done, Aussies might be tuning into the UFC bout as well.
Amid all the other news today, Anthony Albanese has published a video message of support for Australian fighter Alexander Volkanovski, who will compete for the UFC Featherweight Championship in the headline match of the event in Miami, Florida.
Volkanovski will fight Mexico’s Diego Lopes for the belt.
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In a message posted to his Instagram and cross posted to the UFC’s Australian and New Zealand page, Albanese said:
I’m in my own title fight at the moment, but I want to wish you all the best for yours. I know you’ll dig deep and make Australians proud. You are one of Australia’s great sporting champions. When you enter the octagon this weekend, Australians will be cheering you on. Go hard.
‘We all make slips’: Littleproud defends Price’s ‘make Australia great again’ remark
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, says Jacinta Nampijinpa Price “inadvertently” said the Coalition would “make Australia great again” during a press conference yesterday, and “we all make slips during the campaign”.
In case you missed it, you can read all the details below:
Speaking on the Today Show just earlier, Littleproud defended Price, saying:
Oh, look, this is an impromptu speech … You’ve got a whole lot of words going around your head, she inadvertently made these comments. It’s nothing about trying to channel Trump at all …
And, you know, we all make slips during the campaign. This was an inadvertent one by Jacinta. And if that’s the level of debate that the Labor party want to bring to this, rather than policy about the fact that there are Australians tonight that won’t be able to afford dinner, all they’ve got to run on, on their record is smear and innuendo.
I think Australians want the adults in the room to run the show. Not one that’s just going to try and tear people down for slip of the tongues.
Minns says a permanent memorial will come – but will take time to get right
Chris Minns was also up on ABC News Breakfast this morning, asked whether a permanent memorial would still be happening.
The premier said it would “definitely take place”, but needs to be done in consultation with the families and could take time.
We want to make sure that it’s appropriate, that it’s a place for [the families] to come for quiet reflection, and that it doesn’t add to the pain that they’re feeling, that it’s an appropriate commemoration.
That takes a bit of time. The Martin Place siege took many years to get right, but I think we got that right. The reason it took place, and took a bit of time, and is now considered an appropriate venue for commemoration, is because we didn’t rush into it.
Minns wants to ensure ‘full inquiry and investigation’ into Bondi stabbing attack
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says the last 12 months have been “harrowing” for the families who lost loved ones in the Bondi Westfield stabbing attack.
Speaking on Sunrise this morning, he said:
No doubt [the families are] thinking about what their loved ones would have achieved over the last 12 months and what they had in front of them.
The one commonality amongst all six of the people who were killed is that they were ambitious, bright, optimistic people that seemed to have the world at their feet – which means this tragedy is just all the more harrowing for Sydney and for those people.
Asked what NSW has learnt, one year on, he said there would be a “full inquiry and investigation.”
I know that people want answers and we need to do everything we possibly can to ensure that it doesn’t happen again, and that the state and the authorities learn the lessons.
Commemorative display to mark community’s response to Bondi Westfield attack
AAP reports that commemorative display boards will be temporarily installed in the nearby Oxford Street, to mark the community’s response to the Bondi Westfield stabbing attack.
It will include photos from a candlelight vigil. The shopping centre’s owners will also place a floral tribute inside the centre.
NSW premier Chris Minns and governor Margaret Beazley will lay flowers at the scene today along with local mayor William Nemesh and other officials.
Welfare support officers will be available as the community is invited to reflect on the tragedy.
Police commissioner marks Bondi Westfield stabbing attack anniversary
The NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, has also released a statement marking the first anniversary of the Bondi Westfield stabbing attack:
Today we remember the victims of one of the most horrific events in Australian history. Our hearts are with their families who continue to endure unimaginable grief and do their best to carry on.
Hundreds of people, including police, paramedics, and civilians, were all first responders on this horrific day. They are heroes, risking their own lives in an effort to save victims and nurse the wounded during what can only be described as a senseless tragedy.
The memory and the trauma of this day will never be forgotten.
Albanese marks first anniversary of Bondi Westfield stabbing attack
Josh Butler
Anthony Albanese has released a statement on the first anniversary of the Bondi Westfield stabbing attack, where six people were killed. In a video message released today, he said:
One year on from the horrific attack at Westfield Bondi Junction, we pause to remember those whose lives were stolen on what should have been just another Saturday. Hold on to all they were and all they had ahead of them.
This should not be an anniversary. They should still be here – with their families, their friends and in their communities, with all their hopes and dreams and joys that are the very essence of life.
While the Labor and Liberal parties will hold their respective campaign launches today, in Perth and Sydney, Albanese said:
As we grieve them, we think of everyone who wakes each morning and feels the pain of their loss anew. And we think of those who live with the memories, from the shop staff to the shoppers to the first responders. It was a day that cruelty was met with courage.
Six people were killed and 12 injured in the stabbing attack. The attacker was later shot dead by police. The PM said:
Amid the terror, people were tested in ways they had never imagined, yet their first instinct was to help each other. To offer comfort, compassion and protection to friend and stranger alike. And some even ran towards the danger. In the hours and days that followed, we saw a community united in grief, reaffirming for all of us a core truth: that love is greater than hate.
Josh Butler
Labor’s $10bn housing investment labelled ‘game changer’ for new supply
Labor’s housing investment is a “game changer” for new supply, according to the Property Council of Australia.
As we brought you this morning, Anthony Albanese will today announce $10bn for new housing supply with the states, in a bid to build 100,000 new homes specifically for first homebuyers, as well as open up the successful home guarantee scheme (which allows buyers to secure a mortgage with just a 5% deposit) to all first homebuyers.
The Property Council has previously raised concerns and doubts about whether Labor could meet its existing housing targets, projecting that the government was well behind its goals.
But the group’s CEO Mike Zorbas said the new program was a “balance between supply-side investment and demand stimulus that both supports first home buyers and acts as a hedge against global uncertainty.”
This kind of generational investment is a game changer for new housing supply. 100,000 new homes will be a big boost to our welcome and ambitious 1.2 million new homes target. We look forward to early industry involvement in the scheme design to make sure the benefits are maximised.
Zorbas said expanding the home guarantee scheme would also be a boost to first homebuyers.
Bridging the deposit gap is a critical factor in getting more young Australians into their own homes, many of whom are otherwise watching their dreams of home ownership slipping away. With the average age of first home buyers in our capital cities approaching 40, this is an important measure.
Coalition announces $10bn tax cut measure
Sarah Basford Canales
The Coalition has announced a $10bn tax cut measure giving Australians earning up to $144,000 up to $1,200 in tax relief in the upcoming financial year.
Peter Dutton announced overnight the “temporary and targeted” cost of living relief would put “money back into the pockets of millions of Australians”.
Those earning between $48,000 and $104,000 would benefit from the full offset of $1,200, which the opposition claims would benefit around 85% of taxpayers.
It comes as the Albanese government pledged $10bn to help build 100,000 new homes nationwide for first-home buyers. Dutton said:
Our cost of living tax offset will put more money back into the pockets of millions of Australians at a time when they’re being crushed by skyrocketing grocery bills, rent, mortgage repayments and insurance costs.
The opposition leader said the measure, in conjunction with its promise to temporarily halve the fuel excise to 25.4 cents, would “put more money back into the pockets of millions of Australians at a time when they’re being crushed by skyrocketing grocery bills, rent, mortgage repayments and insurance costs”.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of day 17 of the election campaign.
Both major parties will hold their campaign launches today. Labor is holding its launch in Perth, with housing on the agenda: the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced a $10bn plan to help build 100,000 homes for first home buyers.
The proposed program would allow first home buyers to secure a new build with a 5% deposit, with the government to guarantee part of the deposit. It would require agreements with state and territory governments to fast-track land releases and building approvals, with the aim of the first residents moving in by 30 June 2028.
Albanese said:
I want to help young people and first home buyers achieve the dream of home ownership.
Western Australia was key to Labor securing its election victory in 2022 and they’ll be hoping Western Australia delivers again: the seats of Pearce and Tangney, won by Labor in 2022, are facing strong Liberal campaigns, as is the previously blue-chip seat of Curtin which was won by independent Kate Chaney. Moore, held by former Liberal MP now independent candidate Ian Goodenough, is also in play. There’s also the new seat of Bullwinkel in east Perth, which the ABC’s Antony Green says is notionally Labor but the Nationals candidate, the former state leader Mia Davies, has strong name recognition.
Josh Butler is on the campaign trail with Albanese and will bring you the latest.
Peter Dutton was in Perth yesterday but will be in Sydney today for the Liberal party campaign launch. He’s announced a $10bn plan for temporary tax relief, to roll out next financial year. We’ll bring you more details on that shortly.
It’s also likely he’ll continue to be asked about comments made by Jacinta Nampijinpa Price while standing next to him at a joint press conference in the seat of Tangney, that she wanted to “make Australia great again”.
Sarah Basford Canales has been on the trail with Dutton and will keep you up to speed.
For now, get a hot beverage of your choice and settle in. There’s more to come.
