Anthony Albanese blows $10 million on pre-election taxpayer funded ads

Fineprint details have revealed Anthony Albanese is planning a taxpayer-funded advertising blitz ahead of next year’s federal election.

Anthony Albanese is planning a taxpayer-funded advertising blitz ahead of next year’s federal election to promote his housing policy despite failing to “build a single home” since he was elected.

Buried in the fine print of the mid-year budget update is new spending on a glossy new TV and print campaign to promote “community awareness” of existing “housing supports.”

These include the Help to Buy scheme that recently passed Parliament designed to help low and middle income families enter the housing market.

But that has sparked fury from the opposition spokesman Michael Sukkar who said the money would be better spent building actual houses.

“After not having built a single home since coming to Government, Labor now wants to spend $10 million of taxpayer money to hide their housing failures with glossy advertising,” Mr Sukkar told news.com.au.

“This money won’t build a single home.”

Mr Sukkar said the migration figures outlined in the budget suggested the demand for housing was only set to rise.

“With record numbers of people sleeping in their cars tonight, why isn’t this $10m being used to help desperate Australians without a home,” he said.

“Anthony Albanese leads the worst Government in living memory and this is a just another example of their warped and twisted priorities.

“No wonder Australians are worse off under this shocking Labor Government.”

Anthony Albanese is planning a taxpayer-funded advertising blitz ahead of next year’s federal election to promote his housing policy despite failing to “build a single home” since he was elected.

Homelessness Australia said the budget confirmed 109,557 people sought help from homelessness services in 2023/24 needing long term housing; with just 4,937 provided with the home they need.

“Meanwhile, rising cost of living and rental stress have left almost three million Australians at risk of homelessness, with services overwhelmed by soaring demand,” Homelessness Australia CEO Kate Colvin said.

The Federal Government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), released on Wednesday, contained no new investments in social housing or homelessness services.

Rising cost of living and rental stress have left almost three million Australians at risk of homelessness

“It’s disappointing the federal government has missed an opportunity to make desperately needed investments in social housing and homelessness services,” Ms Colvin said.

“Homelessness services are being swamped, there’s a dire shortage of social housing and almost three million Australians are at risk of homelessness.

“We need the Government to provide the housing and support that millions of Australians desperately need.

“With a federal election just months away, it’s absolutely crucial our leaders address the number one issue affecting voters: housing and homelessness.”

Australia’s net-overseas migration intake has blown out to 340,000 people according to the mid-year economic outlook, prompting claims Labor’s management of the post-pandemic surge in migrant arrivals is “out of control”.

The budget update confirms that the Albanese government’s plan to slash net migration to 260,000 this financial year has missed the mark by a long way fuelling the housing crisis.

As the budget update revealed a blowout in Australia’s cumulative deficits over the next four years, buried in the detail is another blowout to Australia’s migration intake.

In May, Labor’s budget projected net migration would be slashed from 528,000 in 2022-23 to 260,000 in 2024-25.

But the budget update reveals that as Australians are being hit hard by interest rate rises and rising rents as demand for housing surges that migration hasn’t fallen as expected fuelling demand for housing.

Buried in the fine print of the mid-year budget update is new spending on a glossy new TV and print campaign to promote “community awareness” of existing “housing supports.”

“People are just staying for longer, I don’t have a more granular sense than that,’’ Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

“We account for that, allow for that, we still have net overseas migration being managed down to more normal levels in a methodical and considered way with a departures issue is the thing that is slowing that up a little bit.

“On net overseas migration, the net overseas migration spike after COVID has peaked and is coming down and that is before some of the measures that we are – that we have put in place, kick in.”

Despite predictions in the last budget that Australia’s intake of migrants will fall sharply — halving in two years — MYEFO shows that is not the case.

“One person is arriving to live in Australia every 46 seconds,‘’ opposition treasury spokesman Angus Taylor said.

“If Labor gets another term, migration will hit 2 million in total with no plan for housing and infrastructure.”

Originally published as Anthony Albanese blows $10 million on pre-election taxpayer funded ads