KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Joining us to discuss today's headlines is Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Sam Rae, and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ted O'Brien. Morning guys. Nice to see you this morning. Sam, boy you guys are on a roll at the moment.
RAE: Well, you've got to roll when you've got the momentum, Karl. We're busy trying to deliver 5 tax cuts for every Australian. We're trying to make the system fairer for workers. And, of course, we're trying to get young people into houses. You've got to use the momentum when you've got it.
HOST: I don't want to see momentum if it's rolling down a hill, that's for sure. Because it seems to be going up right now. The Reserve Bank says, let's tackle this one first, says your first term housing policy did little to help supply and migration didn't help that either. So what's your response?
RAE: Well, it's the Reserve Bank's job, obviously, to stress test every policy that's out there. We're putting $47 billion into housing. We're trying to get young people into homes. Every Australian, every sensible Australian can see, Karl, it's never been harder for a young Aussie to get into their first home and that's what our housing policies are all about. We've seen hundreds of thousands of Australians ...
HOST: The Reserve Bank says it's not working there.
RAE: Well, as I said, the Reserve Bank's job is to test every policy. We've seen hundreds of thousands of Australians get into homes and government programs have been part of the process of getting them there. We're talking about Ted and his colleagues, It's not Ted's fault that his colleagues under the previous Liberal government, they didn't even have a housing minister for most of the time they were in government. It wasn't a focus for them. So we're playing catch-up, but we're getting there. A $47 billion Housing Australia plan that's getting young Aussies into homes.
HOST: Okay, I'm not sure how many have gone into homes just yet. According to the Treasurer, Ted, a fall in house prices is a good thing for that reason.
TED O’BRIEN, LIBERAL MP: Well, only Labor now celebrates the fact that Australians' assets get lowered. Australians become poorer, and this Treasurer celebrates. I mean, when it comes to new houses, Karl, and Sam, you should remember these figures, mate. You bring in 1.6 million more people into this country and build only 600,000 new homes. 1.6 million coming in, only 600,000 new homes. That is why Labor's policies are failing. In my own area, the Sunny Coast, you have average income earners leaving the region because they can't find a home. Homelessness is exploding. Why? This government promises one thing, delivers another. That's the problem.
HOST: Okay, let's keep rolling. Sam, Treasury also botched figures on the benefits of the current system to the average worker. They underplayed it by half. It wasn't on purpose, was it?
RAE: I think we need to be a little bit sober here. A public servant misspoke in a speech they were given. This isn't the Treasurer of Australia. At the end of the day, as I said, we're trying to deliver five tax cuts. We're trying to make housing more affordable.
HOST: It was a convenient message for you, though.
RAE: I think it was a pretty obtuse message, actually, Karl. I think we should be clear. Jenny Wilkinson is one of the most respected economists in the country. She wasn't doing anything other than trying to do her best job here. But at the end of the day, we're trying to, as I said, get more Aussies into housing. The tax changes are all about that. We can't have a situation where investors get a bigger tax break than workers on the hard work they do every single day.
HOST: Ted, a hell of a thing to get wrong, given the timing.
O’BRIEN: Yeah, look, Karl, everybody knows Labor can't manage money. And so when their own number crunches actually come out with the wrong figures, it begs the question, on what basis did the government make its Budget decisions? Did Treasury give the Treasurer the wrong figures? Is that why he came out with a budget that arrived dead? Nobody likes it. These are the sort of questions only the government really can answer.
HOST: A couple of quick ones. Sam, are you looking forward to working with Prime Minister Hanson?
RAE: I might leave that one for Ted, I think, Karl. I think his side of politics might be eyeing that off. I don't think Prime Minister Albanese is going anywhere any time soon, mate.
HOST: Okay, Teddy?
O’BRIEN: You never take the Australian people for granted. Sam might think everything's going swimmingly well for Labor. Look, at the end of the day, we've got to hold this government to account. And if we have other political parties doing the same, well, that's a good thing. This is the worst government we've had since Whitlam. And we need to work with whoever we have to work with.
RAE: That sounds a little bit like playing footsies there, Ted.
O’BRIEN: Well, mate ...
RAE: A little bit like playing footsies there, Ted.
O’BRIEN: I'm not laughing about the Australian people becoming poorer, mate.
RAE: A little bit like playing footsies, Ted.
O’BRIEN: You can giggle about the Australian people becoming poorer when we're coming after you, my boy.
RAE: Playing footsies with One Nation, mate.
HOST: Thank you, fellas. Appreciate it.