E&OE

RON WILSON:

Shadow Treasurer, Angus Taylor is on the line with us right now. Angus, good morning.

ANGUS TAYLOR: It's good to be with you, Ron.

RON WILSON:

Look, let's start with what's hitting the hip pocket of every Australian most at the moment, cost of living. This offset is set to benefit millions of Australians. But with a $10 billion price tag, how do you justify that level of spending while also committing to restoring responsible economic management?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

No, that's the key to getting the balance right. You're absolutely right. And that's why we've opposed over $100 billion of Labor’s spending that we think is not appropriate at a time like now. We need to make sure government is the right size. You don't need to have a bigger team to have a better team. I've learned that through my business career before politics. We don't need to have power lines crisscrossing the countryside, 28,000 kilometres that Chris Bowen wants. And all of this means that there's savings that we can make and we can channel those back to lower taxes for hard working Australians. And that's exactly what we're doing with the tax offset. Next financial year we'll see 85% of taxpayers get a $1,200 benefit from making sure that we manage government spending. And we can also provide deductibility for first home buyers. And we've got to restore the great Australian dream of owning a home. It's been disappearing in front of our eyes in recent years and I know not just first home buyers are worried about this, but parents and grandparents are deeply worried about what's been happening in our housing market. And this is a real opportunity to get it back on track.

RON WILSON:

Yeah, look, the Coalition has hit Labor hard on these energy rebates saying they're just short term, they are not real policy, it's just a sugar hit. Well, this one-off tax offset, isn't that also just another sugar hit short term?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, let's be clear on the energy side the answer has always been to get energy bills down. That's the key. And Labor's completely failed to do that. They promised they would do that and they've failed. And the $275 reduction they promised and in my electorate people will be paying or are paying $1,300 more than that. But we've also seen more broadly across the economy the biggest reduction in our standard of living in history. We've never seen anything like it. A young family with a mortgage having to find $50,000 that they weren't expecting to find. We need to help people through the next year or two as we get the economy back on track and then we need to make sure the economy is working for all Australians, which it hasn't done. We've seen growth per person negative for 21 months in a row. Again, completely unprecedented. If we're going to grow the economy, we can make sure people are able to get ahead, we can make sure our budget position is stronger. And in the meantime, we know we have to help people through what is a really dire time for so many Australians.

RON WILSON:

So, how does this offset compare to Labor's tax cut, which amounts to about 70 cents per day? What's the difference between the two? How will you be better off under your scheme?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, it's $1,200 over the course of the next financial year and that's a substantial benefit at a time when Australians are really struggling. And it's substantially more than 70 cents a day, of course. It's important that Australians be able to get through the next little while. What we're see in my neck of the woods and right across Australia is young families who are having to take on second jobs, work extra hours. They struggle then to find the time to take their kids to sport. They're having to dig deep into their savings, they're having to cut back on non-essentials and even essentials in some cases. And the truth is that this is a really desperate time. So, we want to help them through and get the economy back on track in parallel. That is the absolute key and we know that. I think we can get that balance right. That's what this is doing. And it's possible because we have opposed bad Labor spending consistently over the last three years, we've copped criticism for opposing some of that spending. But it means we are able to deliver these sorts of measures at a time when they're most needed.

RON WILSON:

Walk us through the tax deduction scheme for first home buyers on newly built homes.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Yeah, so this is about helping young families who want to buy a home to get into their home market for the first time, which has become a huge challenge and a huge barrier. Importantly, it only applies to new homes because we want to get more homes built and we want to make sure that developers, when they build a home, have a buyer at the other end. We know that's holding back housing supply in this country. So, if you're a first home buyer with a taxable income of say $120,000 with a $650,000 mortgage, there'll be a benefit of around $12,000 a year in tax deductibility. Again, it's a tax cut we're talking about here. That'll help them into the market. It'll help them to buy that first home and ensure that we have a market for builders to build those homes. They know that they've got a buyer at the other end. And a big part of the challenge we've had in getting more supply into the market is I hear builders every day saying, I just don't have a market. If I build a house, there's not someone at the other end to buy it.

RON WILSON:

Well, critics argue the policy could be inflationary and may disproportionately benefit higher income earners. How do you ensure that doesn't push up prices or favour those who are already relatively well off?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, it's a great question, and the answer is this only applies to new homes. It's getting more supply into the market and that is crucially important here. It's why we've targeted it to new homes. We could have said, look, this is across all homes, but the truth is we need more new homes being built in this country. We’ve got to deal with the supply side. It'll apply to any house up to $650,000 mortgage. So, houses that are lower cost, of course, are still going to be included in it. It includes apartments, which of course, many first home buyers, they might want a free standing house over time, but they'll start off with an apartment and that's included as well. But unashamedly, we're saying we want to restore home ownership as a central part of the Australian dream. It's been eroding, it's been dying in front of our eyes. I think this is an incredibly sad thing to watch. I've got four kids aged between 19 and 25. I want them to and everyone their age, their whole generation, knowing that they will have the choice to be able to own a home over time, as me and my wife have been lucky enough to do.

RON WILSON:

Look, construction, labour and material supply are already a major issue. Can the sector actually keep up with what you're proposing?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Yes, as long as we keep on those issues. So, we've also said we'll get another 400,000 apprentices out into the marketplace. We need more tradies, there's no question about that. We also have to make sure our construction sector is working the way it should. And we've seen the CFMEU, a union with deep links to the criminal underworld that has had control of our construction sector, including parts of the housing market, which has made it more expensive, more difficult and slower to build things in this country. And we all pay the price for that. So, we do have to make sure we get these things right. We have the skills we need. We have a construction sector that's working the way it should and serving all Australians. And that is part of our policy package as well.

RON WILSON:

Angus, we were talking to Phil Honeywood just a short time ago from the International Education Association of Australia. And obviously immigration and international student numbers are on the agenda for both sides of politics at the moment. And they're being blamed for a lot of the issues we have in the housing crisis at the moment. Are they being unfairly targeted? And why would you actually try to reduce or even cap international student numbers?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, we've got to get the balance right. This is the key. Most of these things are about balance. We want to see a successful international education sector in this country. We've had a very successful sector, but the numbers have been extraordinary. We've seen immigration in this country of over a million in just two years, three times what we've seen before. And the country can't cope with that kind of growth. We're a great immigrant nation. We always will be. International education is part of that. But it's all about balance. And particularly the most prestigious universities, the G8 as they call themselves, the Sydney University, Melbourne University, and some of the top universities in our country, have seen the number of international students get towards 50% of the total numbers at the university. Now, we think that's getting the balance wrong. And so we will impose caps to get that back to closer to 25%, which we think is a reasonable number. By the way, that is very much in line with what the great universities around the world do as well. They get that balance right and we should be getting that balance right. It has been out of whack. It does put pressure on housing markets around those universities. There is no question about that, and some might argue otherwise. But I can tell you that the evidence on the ground of housing pressures as that number of students has increased is very, very clear. I see that with regional and rural students, including from my electorate, who have been going to those universities, trying to get access to housing is extremely difficult. We need to get the balance right.

RON WILSON:

And you're proposing visa fees as high as $5,000 for students coming into our universities. Is that fair?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Yeah, I think it is fair. I mean, they're getting an incredible experience coming to what I think is the greatest country in the world and getting a wonderful education. And I think it's fair and reasonable that all Australian taxpayers should benefit from that. The universities themselves benefit greatly from it, charging around $30,000 a year or thereabouts, depending on the course that goes to the universities. I think the taxpayer should get a slice of that as well, because at the end of the day, we're issuing the visa. The government, on behalf of all Australians are issuing the visa. It's fair and reasonable that the taxpayers get some of the benefits.

RON WILSON:

Now, when it comes to the polls, Newspoll the latest one shows Labor is doing quite well, pulling ahead. In fact, the Prime Minister is pulling ahead of Peter Dutton. Do you have any concerns about where it's all going at the moment?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

don't waste a lot of time on the polls.

RON WILSON:

Ah, come on. I'm sure you keep an eye on the polls.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Except that what I really take notice of most of all is the conversations I have with people as they get around Australia, including my own electorate. And I see a government that has delivered extraordinarily bad outcomes for Australians. The biggest reduction in our standard of living in history, more than any other peer country in the world. Small businesses collapsing at an unprecedented rate. 30,000 in just the last three years, a record number. The economy has ground to a halt. 21 consecutive months of GDP per capita going backwards. So, Australians are really hurting. And I hear that and see that wherever I go. And I'll continue over the next three weeks to say there is a better way. We can get this country back on track. We can beat inflation, boost growth, back small business, fix housing and energy markets, and we'll continue to talk about the policies that we know will deliver all of that.

RON WILSON:

Alright, Angus as you say, three weeks to go. Best of luck. I'm sure we'll talk again between now and then. Thank you for your time this morning as always.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Great to be with you.

RON WILSON:

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor there on 2SM.

ENDS