Liberals labelled ‘doomsday cult’ by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Greens slammed as ‘stubborn’

Anthony Albanese has taken a new dig at the Greens in his first address as Prime Minister to the Victorian Labor Party conference.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has slammed the Greens as being “stubborn” for refusing to compromise as he unveils Labor’s $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator.

In an address to the Victorian Labor Conference on Saturday, the Prime Minister said the funding windfall would deliver “new money” to state governments within two weeks.

“Demand for social housing has increased almost three times as fast the growth in population,” Mr Albanese told the Labor caucus.

“We are determined to work with state and territory governments to reverse this decline, as part of our commitment to expand housing supply.

“That’s what this is about: real dollars, driving real change and building more homes.”

The announcement comes after protracted negotiations between Labor and The Greens over the housing future funds, with the Greens demanding direct spending on housing year-on-year.

“They prefer sitting on the sidelines, taking cheap shots from the cheap seat,” Mr Albanese said about the Liberal Party. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Prime Minister said the government would not “wait around” while the Greens called for more housing in the media, while opposing it in their electorates and voting against it in parliament.

“The Greens imagine that their stubborn, inflexible refusal to compromise or negotiate serves their political interest,” Mr Albanese said.

“But – delegates - our focus is the national interest.

“They are a party of protest. Happy to promise the world, while organising a petition against every new apartment building.

“The Greens have blocked more houses than they’ve ever built.”

Anthony Albanese also has labelled the Liberal Party a “doomsday cult”, ridiculing their opposition to the federal government’s attempts to deal with the cost of living crisis.

In his address, the Prime Minister called out the Opposition for their claim his government’s reforms are “somehow signs of the apocalypse”.

The Opposition opposed a number of Labor’s cost of living measures in the May Budget. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“If the Victorian Liberals have become a conspiracy in search of a theory, the federal Opposition are basically a doomsday cult,” he said.

“For them, every day is the end of days. These are the people who said energy bill relief for families and businesses was ‘Venezuelan communism’.”

Mr Albanese reflected on federal Labor’s achievements from their first year in power in 12 years, saying the government was “supporting people through adversity”.

He noted the $3.5bn investment to triple the bulk billing incentive to allow children under 16 and concession card holders to benefit from free GP visits.

The Labor leader also patted the party on the back over the $500 in bill relief given to some households and boosted childcare subsidies found in the budget.

Also on the agenda was the announcement of the $2bn Social Housing Accelerator Fund, which will be delivered to state and territory governments within two weeks.

“This is new money – right now – for new social housing,” Mr Albanese said.

Australia’s public housing stock has gone backwards in recent decades, with 299,500 dwellings recorded in 2021 compared to 341,400 in 2006, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

“When I met with Premiers and Chief Ministers about this yesterday, they all committed to ensuring that investment in housing will work alongside better planning laws, reforming zoning and freeing-up more land for new builds,” he said.

It’s Mr Albanese’s first address to the Victorian Labor Conference as Prime Minister.

Labor has been basking in success in Victoria recently. At the May 21 election – with the help of some high-profile teal candidates – the Liberals lost some major scalps, not least former treasurer and would-be leader Josh Frydenberg.

It then lost the Aston by-election in April, when Labor became the first government in a century to win a seat from the opposition in a by-election.

And at the state-level, Labor demoralised the Liberal opposition with another victory for Dan Andrews and Labor in November.