So the day starts with Labor in Hobart (Tasmania is a bit of a problem state for Labor. WONDER WHY) and the Liberals in Melbourne (which will probably end up being its best state this election and also the reason Labor will fall short of majority government)

Asked about economists criticising both Labor and the Coalition’s housing plans (the criticism is that they will just drive up house prices, which they will) Albanese told ABC this morning:

What we’re doing is dealing with supply as well as demand. The Coalition’s plan will push up prices. Our plan will ensure that more homes are built. And what we’ve seen under my Government is 28,000 of those social housing, through the Housing Australia Future Fund, are either under construction or under planning.

What we’ve seen now is housing approvals up, they were going down when we were elected. There were 26,000 in the latest monthly figures compared with what was occurring before. And we’re also seeing housing construction costs fall to just over one percent.

They were above 20 per cent, the increases when we were elected. So, we’re seeing a transformation.

We’re determined to make sure there’s more social housing built, more private rentals through our Build to Rent scheme and more homes built specifically for first home buyers, which will make a difference as well. And by stopping the competition between a first home buyer and an investor, what that will do is ensure that housing is more affordable for those young Australians who want to get into home ownership.

As Grogs and Matt Grudnoff said yesterday, making mortgage interest payments tax deductible (the Coalition’s plan) is a bad idea – because it will just juice demand. 5% deposits with the rest guaranteed by the government (Labor’s plan) is a bad idea – because it will juice demand. Building 100,000 homes (Labor’s plan) is a good idea, because it tackles supply.