‘Drunken sailors’: Today host Karl Stefanovic unloads on Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese’s reckless spending

Both the major party leaders have copped it this morning in a fiery spray from Today show host Karl Stefanovic.

Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese have been accused of “spending like drunken sailors” in the most reckless election campaign in living memory.

Today show host Karl Stefanovic confronted Liberal leader Peter Dutton over the conduct of both the major parties as economists continue to raise concerns about their housing policies.

The Coalition wants to make mortgage payments tax deductible for eligible first home buyers for five years and the Labor Party wants to roll out a five per cent deposit scheme for all new entrants. Both policies will cost $10 billion.

“Pete, good morning to you. So, your election ego is writing checks your Coalition body can never cash,‘’ Stefanovic began.

“Continuing to spend like drunken sailors. I mean, when will the spending stop and when will we see how much it’s going to cost? And how are you going to repay it?”

Karl Stefanovic has unloaded on Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese for "spending like drunken sailors".

But Mr Dutton responded that he was confident the measures – including a cut to fuel excise – were temporary and targeted to deliver cost of living relief.

“Well, Karl, what we’ve done is exactly the same approach that we took during Covid in relation to temporary measures,‘’ he said.

“That is the fuel excise hits the budget in one year. It’s not recurring, so that it’s built in as an expense every year. The economists like that.

“We’ve said to people, you can take some of your own tax back, which is not controversial at all, particularly at a time when the prime minister promised that your power bill will be down by $275, it’s up by $1300.

“And so, the short term measures are exactly what is targeted at helping them. It’s not baked in as a recurrent spend year after year, which is what Labor’s done with their plan.”

Peter Dutton and the bank of mum and dad

Mr Dutton was then probed again over his claims that his daughter Rebecca and son Harry were struggling to save for a house deposit.

The Opposition leader remained coy about whether the bank of mum and dad would be coming to the rescue, after the family offloaded around $12 million in real estate in recent years.

The family now has a $2 million farm according to parliamentary records and the rest of the family wealth is tied up in a family trust.

Peter Dutton’s son Harry made an appearance on the election campaign yesterday. Picture: Richard Dobson / Newswire

“Look, your son Harry has revealed he can’t get into the housing market. Here’s big Harry,‘’ Stefanoic said before running a clip of his son saying: ”We’re saving like mad. But it doesn’t look like we’ll get there.“

“So you won’t give Harry, poor handsome Harry, some cash for his first house. You’re tight with your son, but not with the country,‘’ Stefanovic said.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton filling up Trevor Evans’ car and talking petrol prices. Picture: Richard Dobson / Newswire

“Karl, I have, like every other family, conversations with our kids over a long period of time,” Mr Dutton replied.

“They’ve got a good work ethic. They’re all working hard. They’re saving toward their deposit.

“And in families where you can provide some support, well, you’ll have that conversation with your own kids, but it’s not about our family. It’s about every other family.

“And I’ve said I am not going to accept the situation where only families with a bank of mum and dad, only those kids can afford to buy a house.

“I want to make sure that the dream of home ownership is there for every young Australian who’s working hard and saving, and I think that’s that.

“I just think we’re underestimating how much the young people have really lost the dream of home ownership. And we’re going to restore it.

“We want to make sure we can restore the dream of home ownership and we’ve done that with our policy, and we’ve listened to young Australians who just feel locked out and have given up the hope of home ownership. So, vote for Liberal.

“You get a cut in the fuel tax, you get $1200 back as an average taxpayer, if you vote for Liberal, you can restore the dream of home ownership, and we want to make sure that we can manage the economy to get ourselves through this really difficult period.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the campaign trail talking up Labor’s commitment to allow first-time buyers to purchase a home with a deposit of just five per cent. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

But Stefanovic contrasted that “listening” with Mr Dutton’s recent warnings about the need for economic surgery to lower inflation and balance the budget.

“Rather than costly Panadol measures to ease the symptoms. There’s quite a difference. What a shift,‘’ Stefanovic said.

Peter Dutton believes the Coalition’s policy will restore the Great Australian Dream of homeownership. Picture: Richard Dobson / Newswire

“Well, if you have a look at a young Australians today, they’re locked out of the housing market. Why? Because the government brought in a million people over two years,‘’ Mr Dutton replied.

“They stopped the building of houses. It happened over the last two years. And a million people is 70 per cent more than any two-year period in our country’s history.

“So we’re cutting migration and we’re cutting the number of international students so that young Australians can get into housing.

“Look, what we’ve done is listened to people who are really suffering at the moment. And 25 cents a litre cut for petrol is going to help people straight away.

“We have to fix the energy disaster, which is just forcing the cost of everything up. So, we want to get more Australian gas for Australians and that brings the wholesale price down by 23 per cent.”

Originally published as ‘Drunken sailors’: Today host Karl Stefanovic unloads on Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese’s reckless spending