‘Doomsday cult’: Anthony Albanese slams Coalition and Greens, tips $2bn housing one-off
Anthony Albanese mocks ‘stubborn’ Greens and opposition’s ‘end of days’ attitude as he announces $2bn housing fund.
Anthony Albanese has likened the Coalition to a doomsday cult in opposing his government’s national reconstruction fund, industrial relations reforms and energy bill relief as he announced a $2bn social housing accelerator fund at Victorian Labor’s annual conference on Saturday.
The Prime Minister, who attended the conference at Moonee Valley Racecourse alongside Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, spruiked the Indigenous voice to parliament, social housing and the initiatives of the latest federal budget.
Mr Albanese talked up his government’s achievements, including securing a 15 per cent pay increase to aged care workers, investment in Medicare and abolishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission.
Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd, Mr Albanese said his party was not there to pass time and took aim at Coalition comments that the 2022 election was “not a bad one to lose”.
“That comment reveals so much about who the Liberals are and how they think. They see hard times coming and they run for cover, they prefer sitting on the sidelines, taking cheap shots from the cheap seats and saying no to anything that will actually help Australians,” he said.
“But none of us joined the Labor movement to pass the time or to occupy the space, we’re here to govern, we’re here to get things done, we’re here to do what matters. To deliver for the people who count on us especially when they are doing it tough.”
The Prime Minister quoted comments from the Coalition that spoke of his government’s energy bill relief as “Venezuela communism” and the national reconstruction fund as a “Trojan horse of a union takeover of the economy”.
“If the Victorian Liberals have become a conspiracy in search of a theory, the federal Opposition is a doomsday cult. For them, every day is the end of days,” Mr Albanese said.
“And now on that form line, with that track record, they are foaming and sweating about closing the loopholes that are there in labour hire.
“[Labour hire] should be used to help firms secure workers with specialist skills not abused to drive down pay or undermine security across the workforce.”
He called the Greens ‘stubborn’ and ‘inflexible’ amid their incessant demands for annual funding and rent freezes.
“The Greens imagine that their stubborn, inflexible refusal to compromise or negotiate serves their political interest. But, delegates, our focus is the national interest,” he said.
“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 built.”
Mr Albanese also joined in to poke fun at former Prime Minister Scott Morrison and spoke of the Coalition’s lack of action or discussion on social housing.
“We had a federal government that didn’t bother to have a housing minister for most of that time and never spoke about social housing,” he said.
A member of the crowd then interjected to suggest there could have been a secret minister for housing, referencing Scott Morrison’s appointment to five ministerial positions without government and public knowledge.
“Perhaps that was the case, perhaps that was the case,” the PM said with a laugh.
The federal Labor leader thanked Premier Daniel Andrews for his leadership in discussing housing and his work for the state.
“Wherever I am, one of the things I see is new work underway, more signs of progress, more signs of change for the better,” he said.
“And I say Dan, surely it’s time to rename it the biggest build here in Victoria.”
He commended his state counterpart for delivering more jobs, healthier communities and public transport, including the future suburban rail loop.
“I genuinely shake my head (over the fact) that at the beginning of this year some of the commentators and people in the Opposition were saying that Dan was focused on the statue that you apparently get after 10 years,” Mr Albanese said.
“Because one of the things we already know is there are already monuments to this Labor government that Daniel leads everywhere you look.”
New member for Aston Mary Doyle also earned a shout-out after wrestling the seat out of the Liberals’ control in the May by-election.
Mr Albanese ended his address much like it started it and spoke of the voice to parliament referendum as one his government’s hopes for progress.
“We know that being progressive is about making progress … and that is what my government is focused on,”
“Making sure this is a more reconciled country, by recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people in our nation’s Constitution and listening to their voice.”
The Greens responded to the Prime Minister’s social housing announcement and said the party room would meet next week to discuss the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) bill.
The progressive left-wing party welcomed the $2bn once-off payment but have demanded the government to discuss freezing and implementing caps on rent increases at the next national cabinet meeting.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt said Labor had “caved in” to his party on housing funding.
“What they said were impossible Greens demands yesterday, Labor has done today,” he said.
“Under pressure from the Greens, Labor’s national cabinet has acted on housing funding, finding money they said wasn’t there, and now Labor must again listen to the Greens and make unlimited rent increases illegal.”
Master Builders chief executive officer Denita Wawn called the federal government’s collaboration with industry and state and territory governments to announce the accelerator “commendable”.
“The accelerator is a crucial step towards addressing the persistent issue of housing affordability in the country,” she said.
“Australians are struggling with housing affordability, and this has persisted for decades due to a lack of supply keeping up with demand.”
Ms Wawn also called on the Senate to pass the HAFF bill next week.
“We must continue to pull all levers at our disposal. Master Builders urges the Senate to adopt a pragmatic approach in support of sensible reform and promptly pass the housing legislation next week.”
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