Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton were put on the spot by a grandmother’s question about immigration and the housing crisis in the first leaders’ debate.
The two leaders faced off in front of 100 undecided voters at the Sky News/Daily Telegraph People’s Forum held at Wenty Leagues Club in Sydney’s west on Tuesday night.
They fielded a number of tough questions from the crowd but it was 74-year-old grandmother Janine who left the pair stunned.
‘I worked very hard all my life. I didn’t come for money at all. I came from an average family,’ Janine began.
She said she wasn’t worried about her own future, but held grave fears for those of her children and grandchildren.
‘I have not seen any government take control of a fact, and it is a fact: a lot of foreign companies and countries buy Australian farmland,’ Janine continued.
‘We have a lot of migrants. Sorry, not migrants – I didn’t say that we have a lot of students who are here visiting, who are buying housing within the city area.
‘And we have a lot of people here, just on visas, buying properties here in Sydney, and they are now empty.’
Grandmother Janine asked the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader if they would ban foreign investors from buying land and housing during Tuesday night’s leaders’ debate
The question stunned both leaders who offered similar answers, which did not satisfy the undecided voter
‘Is one of our governments going to turn up and say, ‘Australia belongs to Australians, and therefore our land remains Australian land’?’
Both leaders went on the charm offensive, seeking to compliment Janine.
Mr Dutton said she looked healthy and well while the Prime Minister thanked workers like Janine for making Australia the best country in the world.
Mr Dutton repeated his campaign promise that a Coalition government would impose ‘a two-year ban on foreign buyers from purchasing existing housing stock’.
‘I don’t want foreign buyers competing against young Australians at auctions or at the sale of the house that they’ve got their mind set on,’ he said.
Janine however, was quick to ask what the Opposition Leader meant regarding ‘existing’ housing.
‘Does that stop them from buying property and building new homes?’ she asked.
Mr Dutton said it was a ‘fair question’ but clarified that without foreign investment in new housing developments, many construction jobs would fail to be funded.
Mr Dutton said a Coalition government would ban foreign investors from buying ‘existing’ housing for two years but Janine asked if that would include future developments
Using the example of a 200-unit apartment block, Mr Dutton said if foreign students and investors did not buy ‘a portion’ of the housing, then it could not be built.
‘There is a certain number of presales that need to take place before that unit development can be completed,’ he said.
‘So if they don’t get the presales, they don’t get the finance, then the apartment block of 200 units cannot get built.
‘It allows that project to get up and running and it allows those 200 units to get onto the market so we’re trying to strike that balance.’
When it was the Prime Minister’s turn to respond he said his government had already put a two-year ban on foreigners buying homes in Australia.
‘We have put in place a two-year ban on foreign ownership of homes,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘We think that’s appropriate at the moment in order to ensure that homes are available for Australians.
‘We’re going to increase the supply of homes, that’s absolutely central to a range of policies that we have put in place. Whether it be private rentals, whether it be public and social housing where I grew up or whether it be home ownership as well.’
Mr Dutton (right) said he would not stop foreign investors from buying into housing developments while the Prime Minister (left) said he would not ban future investors either
Mr Albanese said his policy was ‘basically’ the same as Mr Dutton’s but managed to avoid mentioning anything about existing housing in his answer.
But Labor’s legislation specifies that its ban also only prevents foreign investors from ‘buying established homes’ and does not cover future housing.
‘Foreign investors (including temporary residents and foreign‑owned companies) will no longer be able to purchase an established dwelling in Australia while the ban is in place unless an exception applies,’ the government’s policy website states.
‘These limited exceptions will include investments that significantly increase housing supply or support the availability of housing supply, and for the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.
‘Alongside the temporary ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings, we will tackle land banking by foreign investors.
‘We’re cracking down on land banking by foreign investors to free up land to build more homes more quickly.’
The ban came into effect on April 1 and will be in place until 31 March 2027.
A review will take place in April 2027 to determine whether the ban should be extended.
Following the debate, Sky’s panel was quick to label Mr Dutton the winner of the debate
The 100 undecided voters in the room disagreed however with 44 per cent voting that Mr Albanese had won the debate while only 35 per cent said that Mr Dutton was the winner
Following the debate, the Opposition Leader was immediately declared the winner by Sky’s Political editor Andrew Clennell and the Daily Telegraph’s editor Ben English.
‘I think Peter Dutton was a clear winner and I think that’s pretty meritorious with the situation with his father,’ Mr Clennell said.
He was, or course, referencing the news that broke just before the debate began about Mr Dutton’s 79-year-old father being rushed to hospital with a heart attack.
Mr English added: ‘He (Dutton) won it. He was clear, he was focused and he was across the detail.’
But the majority of the hundred undecided voters did not agree, as 44 per cent believed Mr Albanese won the debate, while only 35 per cent were convinced by Mr Dutton.
The remaining 21 per cent were undecided.