The Chaser Report - Has Albanese Solved The Housing Crisis? (Not Sarcastic)

Episode Date: June 20, 2023

Very much not sarcastic, why would you think that? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Chaser Report is recorded on Gatigal Land. Striving for mediocrity in a world of excellence, this is The Chaser Report. Hello and welcome to The Chaser Report with Dom and Dom, we've had a few listener complaints. Have we? Yes. How dare they? Yes, I know. Fuck off, listeners.

Unless you pay $4 a month for the premium version, in which case we're so sorry. And look, our ratings are going up. We're about to hit 6 million downloads. So they like to complain our listeners, but they also like to. like to listen. How many of those millions were you? Because I'm good for at least two or three. Yeah, that's right. But the complaint is that we're often too depressed and dreary about everything. So I was wondering whether we could have a sort of cheery episode. Yes, we can. We absolutely can. I'm going to present you a very depressing fact. But then I'm going to tell you

that a solution is on the way. So wait a minute, is this just going to be heavy-handed sarcasm. No, the solution is on the way. It's on the way. It's in the mail. It's coming. It's It's imminent. It's planned. Okay. So the depressing fact is that a quarter of Australia's property investments are held by, guess, how many percentage of taxpayers? Is it twiggy? Is it one?

It's one percent. One percent. So you'll also be glad to know that a clear majority of these investors are over the age of 50. So if the sense is that the boomers own everything, yeah, they do. Wait a minute, but just some boomers, because there's more than 1% of the population are boomers. But, so it's just, there's a very, very small bunch of rich fuckwits who own, what, 25%. So 1% of people. Fucking hell.

So this is 1% of investors, right? So 19,000 people basically own six or more investment properties. Oh, what fuckwits. Yes, the fuckwits. And yet only 15% of the total number of taxpayers of property investors. So they're not paying tax either, which is, it's fantastic. So that's the problem I want to talk. about. We'll have a solution, though. I'm not joking. You thought it was going to be heavy-handed

sarcasm, didn't you? You thought it was going to be... So, presumably, they're abolishing negative gearing and their... And the stage three tax cuts. Uping the rate of the capital gains tax. And all the money, all the money from the stage three tax cuts is going directly to be able to who don't have houses, just help them buy one. Is that... No, of course, that's not what's... Oh, damn. It's we're not a socialist. We're a Labor government that they have a child. It's not a socialist paradise. What you need is very right-wing neoclassical economics. That's what a good Labor government does.

You need a very right-wing neoclassical Labor Party. Well, look, to be fair to Albo, we've talked about this before. Albo is Mr. Government Housing. Albo is Mr. Grew up in a council. No, he's Mr. Let's talk about government housing. Well, he lives in two government houses. Yeah, that's right. So basically, what's happened this week is that the PM wants to pass this housing

Australia Future Fund, $10 billion is up for grabs. That's the plan to do that. But that's $10 billion not to put into housing. There's $10 billion to put on the stock market or something. It's a future fund. It's a Peter Costello idea. So very labour, very labour to have a future fund. But the Greens and the Coalition have joined forces to block this idea.

So the government wants to raise $10 billion. Sorry, who's joined forces? The Greens and the Coalition. Or as the PM very wittily calls them the new no elitian. See, see what he's done there? He's trying to show in the Greens. So this must be a profoundly bad idea. Well, they've got two different reasons for it.

Oh, okay, yeah, right, don't. So presumably, let's break it down. The National Party, I assume it's because it doesn't lead to more sex with staffers. The National Party aren't voting for. That's very unfair. Is that the reason? It's not pork barreling for farmers, I think it's their reason. Oh, right.

Now, the coalition basically opposes it on the basis of cost. So you can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on submarines on their watch. Yes. But you certainly can't spend 10 billion on housing. I've just come up with a solution to the entire housing crisis. I know what you're going to say. House everyone in submarines, which are very safe. Well, the great thing about that, Charles, is that when sea levels rise

because we didn't take action on climate, it doesn't matter. Who is a submarine? It was like a future fund. I mean, the oceans can swap over the whole Australian territory. There'll be nothing left except the flagpole on top of Parliament House. I love it. And we'll just have some marines. We won't mind.

Okay, so the coalition objects on the basis of costs. The Greens, however, have an entirely different objection. Can you guess what the Greens are worried about? Bearing in mind, they are the Greens. It's not transgender enough. Oh, bad. You and Rishi Sunak having a laugh at that this week. Okay, no, okay, no, I'll concentrate.

The Greens object to it on the basis that it's not perfect. Of course. Of course it's what it is. So what they want to happen is that Labor, which admittedly does run every state pretty much now. Tasmania doesn't count. They want a nationwide rent freeze and they're not willing to pass $10 billion on this housing future fund until all the governments agree to freeze rent nationwide. Right.

Which must be the single most popular policy they've ever come up with. Well, that in the legalising way. I love it. I love it how about a third of Australians now pay rent. So a third of Australians would actually love that idea. And freezing the rate increases. Whereas, what did you say, 19,000 people own six properties. And presumably can afford to have less rent anyway.

So presumably, Labor has looked at the polls and gone, well, it's very, Very important, like the 19,000 people happen to be all the people in Parliament. Yes. Well, actually, some of the, yeah, some of the MPs do own a lot of houses. We won't go through that list right now, but crikey has that list, people are curious. Okay, so that's the plan. The Greens are saying it's not perfect enough. There's a few friends of the show.

Yes, there might be one that comes to mine. That's right. How have we not got a house out of that person? Anyway, I can only wish. So the Greens want this rent freeze. Now, Charles, I'm no economist. I can't weigh on this. I don't know.

it's been argued that the rent freeze will make things worse. Some people say it will make things worse. I'm sure it would make it worse for people who foolishly invested in property. Worse for the renters, people say it worse for the economy. I don't know why. It's worse for people who hoard property. Definitely that. That's definitely true.

I love it. That's the mental gym. That's the same argument as trickle-down economics. Oh, yeah, why don't we give tax cuts to the rich because that'll advantage the poor? It's like a rent freeze won't work for renters. Ask the fucking renters. Of course it'll work for renters. Well, this is, this is the government's position.

The government's position is that rent freezers won't work. Now, I've got an art. I just quickly googled, will rent freezers work or not? Yeah. And I'm just looking here. Let me guess. The Australian Financial Review says that they won't work. Charles, look at this website.

I'm looking at it. Got to do one. So no, look, there's a whole, there's a whole complicated academic debate, as I say. The Finn Review, which I think is neutral in this, says you can't do it. But the government, the government says that that's why. Because I did economics at university. The way it works is you work out what you reckon. And then you just work back justifying that using language.

Isn't that everything? So, but I mean, what it does quote here is Queensland treasurer says it distorts the market. New South Wales treasurer says that rent freezers are ineffective. The Victorian treasurer says, look, it's not on the agenda, but we might cap increases, maybe. But doesn't it make sense, see, can I just get serious for a second here, which is there is only one asset in the entire world that has no risk attached to it, and that's Australian property. Because every time interest rates go up, landlords demand the right to increase rents, right?

So they, at no point, do they ever make a loss out of their investment? They fully expect that every cost that's incurred should be paid for by somebody else, whether the taxpayer or the rent part, right? Through negative gearing. But that, Charles, why do you think people own six houses? Because it's a great investment. But the point is that investments are supposed to have some risk attached to it. Like, say you go long on buying up a whole lot of houses and then interest rates go up.

With every other investment in the world, the answer is, well, it sucks to be you. Doesn't it? Because now you've got to pay a whole lot more on your mortgage, but you can't get more from your rent because that's how it should work. Charles, if those people, if those people who have these risk-free investments, want some risk, just give us your money. Invest in the Chaser podcast. We will add risk to your life.

Okay, so anyway, so that debate rages on, okay? There's a whole complicated. UNSW economics professor Richard Holden says that, you know, rent increases will make things worse. He's left to centre, isn't he? Can I just say, Dom, this is not a, cheery episode. This is making me hugely depressed. Okay, but here's the bit where it's all going to be okay. Okay. Okay. There's a couple of ways it might be all right, Charles.

Way one, way one is that the Albanese government is counting this decision. So they haven't actually said no to the policy. They've deferred it until October, the 10 billion housing bridge fund. Okay. So it's been put back to October. The government is saying that is a double dissolution trigger. So they can potentially go to the polls. And they give us the 10, And it's a brilliant trigger, isn't it? Because 19,000 people would vote for Labor and 27 million people would vote against them. So that's the first lady. So the government might, if you think the government's still going to be as popular as is now in October.

How do you go to the election running on the idea of we won't freeze rents? Like, what the fuck? So there's that. But it would need a second trigger as well. So that's one trigger. Oh, do you need two triggers? No, you don't. You just need one.

Really? Yeah, maybe I'm forgetting my constitutional law. You're just, you're just wanting to, because people like backups. You're like a backup. No, no, the whole point about having. No, if it's, the two is you've got to twice fail to pass one piece of legislation. Yeah, that's right. They don't have to go through the same bill again.

Yeah, you're right. In October, yeah. Yeah, so it's possible that that could happen in October. Yep. Anyway, that's the first thing. And then the second thing. So imagine a wonderful election that we didn't need. over this policy.

And for people who have never been through a double-disillusion election before, the way it works is the reason why governments love double-disillusion elections is you spill the entire sentence. Yes. You'd get rid of all those annoying senators. Sure.

Right? And then when the parliament gets back, presuming you win the election, you then have this joint sitting of parliament where if you've got the numbers, you can basically pass everything that you want. So you line up all this legislation, you have a massive session of Parliament and you just vote everything through.

It'd be amazing. That's certainly possible. Or... You could legislate more tax breaks for rich people. You could legislate more tax cuts for rich people. You could buy some more submarines. Oh, that's true. You could divert the whole of the Australian economy into buying submarines.

Charles, you know the other thing that happens when there's a double dissolution election? What? You get lots of weird senators. You get people like... Ah, yes. Markham Roberts. back in, I think, didn't he? We could run.

We could run! We would probably win. What a great idea. The Chaser Report. Now with extra whispers. Okay, so that's one possibility is that our boat goes through that way. But he's also decided just to completely bypass the Parliament. And I don't quite know how he's going to do this.

But he's also passing a $2 billion social housing boost for the states and territories. Now, Charles, this is a strange one. Because it kind of feels like a mistake. What I think they're doing is giving each of the... the states and territory, $50 million to build, you know, social housing, and then they'll distribute the rest of the $2 million on a per capita basis. So everyone gets a bit. The biggest states get the most. And it's actually going to be used on social housing. That seems strange. That's not what the future fund is for. I thought Labor's policy was to sort of do some funny

business with the housing market, rather than actually funding social housing. This sounds like a sort of Labor policy or something. Yeah. It actually sounds identical. to the Greens policy. And when the Greens are after about $2 billion? They wanted more money for social housing. Yeah. I don't quite know. It seems like a mistake. I'm sure they'll sort it out. But he's saying they'll even potentially do more of that going forward. And then the state governments are just going ahead and building stuff. I mean, New South Wales has just announced big plans to build social housing and paramount and stuff like that. So, I mean, it's a drop in the ocean compared to, I think, the 25,000 homes

that the state needs a year just to keep pace with population. But there's some social housing being built. You know what that means, Charles, that somewhere out there in the suburbs, there will be one boy, just one, who he lives in social housing and goes on to become Prime Minister one day. There won't be more than one boy who gets to live in the social housing, but there'll be one. There'll be another fucking Alba. Another Alba. Another profound disappointment. Another little kid sitting there somewhere in a free council house going, I could, if I just play my cards right, I could get a free house in Canberra and by the harbour in Sydney. But also just seeing, so you're talking about tens of thousands of new pieces of

social housing. That's what's being proposed. Yeah, right. So that means that there'll be tens of thousands of people who won't be profiting from other people's needs for shelter. Like, won't anyone think of the landlords for once? I mean, this is a disgrace. They're being completely undermined. Like, there's no room for making profit out of people's human needs. So I'm just looking at this more, Charles. It's a social housing accelerator, it's called, because that's how you make something sound trendy. This is just communism, isn't it? This is the grains have taken over labour. Well, Charles, you know what I hope happens, though, is that what they do in Singapore, right? In Singapore, very capitalist society, they build social housing to the HDP, the Housing

Development Board, and then... They whip everyone who gets into the social housing. They cane everyone. No, no, no. What they do is, Charles, they let them buy. the social housing after 10 years or something. So don't worry about it. If the government does this right, they won't be forever social housing that can be... Oh, thank goodness. It'll just be a new bunch of property

investors who get the social housing, get to sell it, make all this money, then can buy more investment properties. I love it. Okay, well, that's a hugely cheery and an optimistic episode that you've delivered, Don. The government has plans to build more houses, is my point. It's actually a

positive thing. $2 billion is going into social housing. I'm not, I mean, they may fuck it up. They may build terrible social houses. It may somehow all just go to Murvac and Lindleys. And I've worked out how to get the libs on board with this policy, which is you build the houses, but you make them shaped like submarines. Charles, you're brilliant. I want to, it's a brain house now. Our Gears from Road, we are part of the iconoclass network. Stay tuned any day now. We're going to pass six million downloads. Oh, the streamer's going to drop from the ceiling.

And the lucky six million downloader will get a special prize. So stay tuned for that. The excitement in your voice is powerful, Charles.