Assistant Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer slips up on house prices on live TV, contradicts PM

LABOR claims the Assistant Treasurer has effectively torpedoed the government’s scare campaign on negative gearing after she contradicted the Prime Minister on live TV.

ASSISTANT Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer has “torpedoed” the government’s negative gearing scare campaign, the Opposition claims, after a slip up during a television interview.

Ms O’Dwyer was this morning forced to issue a clarification after telling Sunrise the Opposition’s capital gains tax reform package would “increase the cost of housing for all Australians”.

It comes amid days of claims by the Turnbull Government that Labor’s policy would drive housing prices down.

Ms O’Dwyer has since explained she was referring to the policy’s effect on new houses only.

“I would like to explain my comments on Sunrise this morning about Labor’s reckless negative gearing policy,” she said in a statement.

“The point I was making is that under Labor’s policy there will be increased demand for new property, pushing up prices for new property.

Kelly O’Dwyer’s comments contradicted those of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: AAP/Mick Tsikas

“It is clear from Labor’s ill-considered policy that existing house prices will decline.”

The Opposition has jumped on the apparent error, with superannuation spokesman Jim Chalmers telling the media Ms O’Dwyer had “torpedoed” the Prime Minister’s scare campaign.

“Now, Malcolm Turnbull doesn’t have an economic plan but he knows he wants a scare campaign about housing prices,” he said.

“He just can’t decide which scare campaign they want to run.

“Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, neither of them could run a Government but at least Tony Abbott could run a scare campaign.

“What we have here is all of this confusion, all of this fumbling and flailing and stumbling around in a haze of economic policy confusion in this country.”

Asked about Ms O’Dwyer’s comments earlier in the day Mr Turnbull said he didn’t hear the interview.

But he repeated earlier claims that Labor’s policy, which includes halving the CGT discount given to some property investors, would drive one third of investors out of the property market.

“It is common sense that that will result on downward pressure on housing prices,” he said.

“An already fragile market will be hit. This will be a shock. It will be a shock to the market and it will have the inevitable consequence of a decline in housing prices, housing values and all of the flow on negative consequences of that.”