Max Chandler-Mather is back to haunt the prime minister with a question on tax incentives for landlords:

In five years, rents have increased 55% house prices 49% and the income a renter needs to buy a medium priced house in a capital city is $197,000, yet the Housing Minister says Labor wants house prices to keep rising.

Will Labor stop giving property investors with multiple properties big tax handouts that turbocharged house prices and deny renters the chance to buy a home and instead, finally phase out negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount?

Anthony Albanese doesn’t address the question on tax incentives, but for the first time in a long time he turns his political attack against the Coalition, rather than just the Greens in his answer. Has the government worked out that they are fighting the Coalition for government in the next election? Will wonders never cease?

Albanese:

“Indeed, fixing the affordable housing shortage is a big challenge for Australia. We have a plan that is focused on supply, because that is the key. Whether you are a homeowner, or you’re a renter, or you’re someone in social and affordable housing. And that’s why our $32 billion homes for Australia plan is worthy of support of everyone in this Parliament. And I note that eventually the cross benches reluctantly got there, sort of crab walked their way to vote for some of the plans that we’ll put forward, and in the last sitting week of December, we passed our build-to-rent incentives that are so important for private renters in Australia to make a major difference. Those opposite here are still opposed to it. Are still opposed to it. They say tax cuts for corporates. This is the same mob that was every single person who has any vague connection with a business to have free lunch for themselves and their mates.

They don’t regret the ten billion for free lunch for their mates but they’re opposed to funding for social and public housing. They’re opposed to more investment in private rentals, and they’re opposed to our Shared Equity scheme that will make a difference as well, which has been successful in Western Australia. The model now we are getting on with the job of building 1.2 million homes. And indeed, there are other things that we’re doing as well, training, more tradies, more apprenticeships, 20,000 fee free take places in construction, $10,000 apprenticeship incentives and I announced at the National Press Club something unfamiliar to most of those opposite over there, just before Australia Day or the local infrastructure announcements that we have made two rounds of local infrastructure announcements facilitating the building of new homes, whether that be through connecting electricity, connecting water, making sure that any impediments to more housing supply be removed.

Our social housing policy will lead to 55,000 homes being built. We also have provided assistance in the form of increased rent assistance in back to back budgets now more than 45% higher than at the election, in addition to helping 200,000 people into their first home sooner.”