Turnbull: ‘negative gearing is examined by every government’
The former PM (and well-known lover of weighing in on political issues) Malcolm Turnbull has weighed into the issue of how the government received advice on negative gearing and capital gains tax.
The opposition has accused the prime minister of lying over advice that the Treasury department provided to the government on negative gearing. The PM last night denied the government had done modelling, and Chalmers said today he “sought a view” from his department on issues that were in “the public domain” around September last year.
Turnbull has gone to X (formerly Twitter) to say that “negative gearing is examined by every government”:
OK, to save time – negative gearing is examined by every government. It is a major tax concession and always contentious and so it is always looked at – what does it cost? What would particular changes mean in terms of revenue and housing affordability[?]
There are many pages in my memoir describing the detailed consideration of negative gearing that went on in my government in which Peter Dutton was a cabinet minister.
Okay to save time – negative gearing is examined by every government. It is a major tax concession and always contentious and so it is always looked at – what does it cost? What would particular changes mean in terms of revenue and housing affordability. There are many pages in…
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) April 17, 2025
Key events
Amanda Meade
1.7 million people watched last night’s leaders’ debate
The second leaders’ debate held on the ABC last night was watched by 1.7 million people across live TV and streaming on iview, according to ABC figures.
The Insiders: Debate Analysis Special which followed last night’s event had a national TV audience of 748,000.
The debate, which was also available live in Auslan on ABC iview, was also listened to on ABC Local Radio and ABC News Radio, and across the day the ABC News website and app had 2.2 million users.
There were 167,000 live streams on the ABC News YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts. ABC managing director Hugh Marks said:
The ABC was honoured to host such a significant national conversation and to be able to put the questions and concerns of Australians directly to our leaders. We can see that people tuned in to the debate on TV, radio or online wherever they were in the country.
Paterson asked about Turnbull’s tweet on negative gearing
James Paterson was also asked about Malcolm Turnbull’s tweet earlier today, saying that “negative gearing is examined by every government”.
The opposition has been asking questions about whether Labor investigated negative gearing – did this also happen when there was a Coalition government? Paterson responded:
Well, I’m not asking for the prime minister not to consider negative gearing. If that’s what he wants to do he’s welcome to do that. What I’m asking is the prime minister be honest about it, and clearly he wasn’t honest about it in the debate last night. He said his government did not seek any advice from Treasury on this issue.
His own treasurer standing next to him today had to admit in fact they did seek advice on this. When a smooth talker like Jim Chalmers can’t find a way to extricate the prime minister from his lie, I think that speaks volumes.
Paterson argued that the PM had “lied about tax before,” pointing to changes to the stage-three tax cuts.
But does he support the idea that governments ask for different advice, just like the Turnbull government did? Paterson replied:
Yes, governments seek advice. When they do so, they should be honest about it, and the prime minister hasn’t been.
Paterson asked if Coalition should be held to this same standard?
Continuing from our last post: James Paterson was asked if the Coalition should be held to this same standard – with Peter Dutton making comments over the Indonesian president and Bridget McKenzie making claims about China and Russia.
Paterson turned the focus back on Labor and said briefings on these matters would be helpful:
I would be very grateful if the government would abide by the caretaker conventions and provide the briefings so the opposition has an equal picture about what is going on here.
He was pressed on the question again – should there be this same obligation on the Coalition – and said:
Of course there’s an obligation on all of us to get the facts right and to be informed of the fact, none more so than the prime minister.
Paterson continued, arguing that politicians are thrown questions during an election and need to respond to breaking news, often with “incomplete pictures”.
Occasionally people misspeak, it’s not unknown in government or in opposition. But one thing that would be helpful – and I think in the national interest – is to make sure we have access to those briefings so we have an equal opportunity to be informed about things being developed.
Paterson defends Coalition commentary when asked if it should be more ‘cautious’
The Coalition’s campaign spokesperson, James Paterson, is also up on ABC Afternoon Briefing where he was asked if the Coalition needs to be more cautious with its commentary going forward, and not “jumping too quickly.”
Paterson replied that it is “important that leaders in government get the details right.”
I was concerned when the prime minister first said the Chinese government gave us adequate notice of the live-firing exercise in the Tasman Sea. That turned out not to be true.
I was also concerned when he claimed he heard from the ADF around the same time he heard from the Virgin Australia pilot those exercises were being conducted. That subsequently turned out not to be true.
And I was concerned when he said the Chinese research vessel was being tracked in the Australian waters by the Australian Defence Force, when it was in fact being tracked by the Australian Border Force.
Scamps weighs in on negative gearing debate
Asked if there needs to be reform to negative gearing in the next parliament, Sophie Scamps said there was “broad agreement this country does need tax reform”.
There’s a lot of issues that our tax reform needs to face. We need to do it holistically and do it all at once, not just picking off bits here and there …
I think that debate around housing, people are genuinely concerned about where their children are going to live. I had a conversation with a dad this morning, he’s got four children in their 20s, they’re all still at home, and he doesn’t think they’ll be able to move out any time soon, or live on the Northern Beaches.
It’s breaking up families and networks. We’re going to have a society where we don’t have the key workers that we need living in our suburbs.
Teal independent reacts to Dutton’s comments on climate change
The independent MP for Mackellar, Sophie Scamps, is up on ABC Afternoon Briefing to weigh in on Peter Dutton’s comments regarding climate change.
She described his comments at last night’s debate as “concerning” and said he seemed to give an “evasive slippery answer”.
In case you missed the debate: Dutton was asked if we are seeing the impacts of climate change, and answered that he is “not a scientist”. He clarified the comments at a press conference today and said “I believe in climate change and that is a reality”.
On his comments last night, Scamps said:
I think he was asked very specifically about climate change and how he would act on it. Instead he tried to fudge it and say he didn’t know what the weather was like in a particular place at a particular time. There is a very clear consensus globally about trends – not about weather – about global trends on climate. There is this consensus around global warming over our land, in our oceans, increased frequency and ferocity of extreme weather events. That’s irrefutable. To not come out and claim that was a bit slippery.
Here is what Dutton said at last night’s debate:
Expert calls for more focus on retrofitting in major parties housing policies
One expert has weighed in on the major parties housing policies, saying the discussion around cost has “largely overlooked” the need to improve the quality of existing housing.
Dr Trivess More, an associate professor of the school of property, construction and project management at RMIT, said more support is needed in this election for retrofitting – AKA making a house more sustainable.
He said this funding needs to “go beyond just funding solar panels and residential battery storage for households”.
This is important given the majority of existing housing will still be here when we need to achieve our 2050 decarbonisation goals.
Dr More said programs already exist to deliver this type of retrofit – through government support programs and tools like the residential scorecard.
The problem is that not everyone can easily access this support and often renters and low-income households are overlooked or do not have the upfront resources to participate.
The recent announcement by the Victorian government to fund ceiling insulation retrofit is a good development, but we need more support from all levels of government to support an equitable retrofit revolution.
Sex discrimination commissioner reacts to UK ruling on definition of woman
Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner, Dr Anna Cody, has issued a statement of support for the transgender community after the UK supreme court ruled that trans women are not included as “women” under the UK’s Equality Act.
Cody said that trans and gender diverse people “should be safe, respected and legally recognised”.
The laws in the UK are not the laws of Australia. Our laws should reflect inclusion, respect and the right of all people to live with dignity.
Trans and gender diverse people are a vital part of our community, and this moment reminds us that we must continue to advocate for the full enjoyment of human rights for all in our communities here in Australia, not retreat from it.
Beachgoers urged to take care in the water over long weekend
Moving away from the election campaign for a moment: Beachgoers in NSW are being urged to take care this long weekend, with warm conditions and hazardous surf forecast.
Warm conditions are forecast across the state and a hazardous surf warning is also in place statewide. This Easter long weekend also coincides with the middle of school holidays, the minister for emergency services, Jihad Dib, noted in a statement.
There are more than 20,000 volunteer lifesavers and lifeguards across the state, and I want to thank them for their contribution this holiday weekend and right across the summer.
Volunteer lifesaver flags will come down across NSW on Sunday 27 April, at the end of the Anzac Day long weekend.
Christopher Knaus
Liberal candidate takes aim at welcome to country and transgender sports participation
A Liberal candidate has claimed Australians are sick of Indigenous welcome to country practices during an interview where he also attacked gender-neutral toilets and transgender sports participation.
David Lamerton, who is running in the south Canberra electorate of Bean, made a series of controversial remarks during an interview with The Canberra Times, published this afternoon.
Lamerton, a veteran who has embraced the practice of acknowledging defence personnel at public events, said Australia is sick of “virtue signalling” around Aboriginal acknowledgment of country practices and said he did not want to be “welcomed to my own country”.
He said he wanted to push back against the use of “unceded” during acknowledgments of country. He told the Canberra Times:
Here we go … where does it stop? A lot of people, they implicitly roll their eyes or they just, they’re just sick of it. But I’m starting to push back on this, as are a lot of people, to say that enough is enough when it comes to this.
Emily Wind
Good afternoon! Emily Wind here, I’ll be with you on the blog for the next few hours.
Krishani Dhanji
That’s it from me today, thanks so much for hanging out on the blog.
I’ll leave you with the fabulous Emily Wind to bring you all the news this afternoon, and I’ll catch you next week, bright and early!
Measles warning issued for greater Melbourne area
Stepping away from the campaign for a moment, Victoria’s chief health officer has issued a health update, warning of an increased risk of measles in the greater Melbourne area.
Dr Tarun Weeramanthri says a number of new exposure sites have been identified, and a growing number of measles cases have acquired their infection locally in Victoria.
He also says there’s an ongoing risk of measles being imported into the state by travellers returning from overseas or interstate.
You can see the full warning and list of exposure sites in greater Melbourne and Gippsland here.
Australia drops in OECD development assistance rankings
Australia is one of the least generous countries when it comes to aid, Oxfam says, after Australia dropped in the rankings of OECD development assistance.
The OECD ranks aid from 33 countries in the development assistance committee by the amount of money spent and money spent as a proportion of GNI (gross national income).
International aid from official donors fell in 2024 for the first time in five years, data showed, by 7.1% in real terms. In 2023, Australia ranked 14th on total aid, providing US$3.25bn, and ranked 27th in proportions spending only 0.19% of GNI.
The latest data shows Australia’s ranking remains 14th, providing US$3.32bn, but fell two places to 29th with a proportion of 0.19%.
Oxfam Australia’s acting chief executive, Dr Chrisanta Muli, called on the government to keep pace with other countries, and said Australia “continues to lag behind on aid” in a world of “increased and growing need”:
Australia continues to be among the least generous countries when it comes to aid and has in fact fallen two places in a ranking of OECD countries. Outside of the OECD, Australia trails behind countries like Malta and Croatia who give more as a proportion of their economies.
We are calling for the next Australian government to lift its aid contribution from 0.65% to 1% of overall spending so we can meet the challenges we are facing both in the region and beyond.
As a comparison, in 2024, Norway spent 1.02% of GNI on official development aid, while the US was ranked first on overall spend, providing US$63.3bn in aid that year. (This, of course, is prior to Donald Trump’s sweeping aid cuts in early 2025).
Today on the campaign trail, through the lens
You never know what might happen in a public place on the election trail, but it seems like there were all smiles at the Paddo, a pub in Brisbane where Albanese and Chalmers made a stopover this afternoon.
But like this ball, the election is still up in the air for both parties (sorry, not sorry).
Meanwhile, in the Hunter, Peter Dutton is fuelling up again (a truck, that is) at another petrol station. I’ve lost count now of how many he’s visited!
It’s been a long week (which if you’re getting the Easter weekend off, is now mostly over) and a fair bit has happened over the last few days of the campaign.
If you haven’t been following every second of the campaign – or need to relive it – James Colley has done the hard yards for you and has all the key moments from the week. You can watch it here:
Josh Taylor
Labor matches Coalition pledge of $6m to the Alannah and Madeline foundation for student digital literacy
Labor has announced a reelected Albanese government will fund digital literacy for school children with $6m to be provided to the Alannah and Madeline foundation.
The eSmart program, which 100,000 students have already been through to receive a digital licence, is for children aged 10 to 14 to teach digital literacy skills like being respectful online, using social media and protecting their privacy.
It’s unclear if the program will need to change as the children in the age group covered by the program are facing being banned from using social media under the federal government’s policy by December this year.
The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said:
Keeping children safe online is a priority of the Albanese government and we are continuing to invest in the tried-and-tested tools.
Digital and media literacy are critical skills for all students and this funding ensures schools have the resources to empower young people to stay safe online.
No parent and no school should have to pay to get access to the evidence-based resources needed to keep children safe. This is why we have supported the eSmart initiative in 2022, and why we are proud to continue to do so.
The Coalition also announced $6m for the foundation yesterday.
Turnbull: ‘negative gearing is examined by every government’
The former PM (and well-known lover of weighing in on political issues) Malcolm Turnbull has weighed into the issue of how the government received advice on negative gearing and capital gains tax.
The opposition has accused the prime minister of lying over advice that the Treasury department provided to the government on negative gearing. The PM last night denied the government had done modelling, and Chalmers said today he “sought a view” from his department on issues that were in “the public domain” around September last year.
Turnbull has gone to X (formerly Twitter) to say that “negative gearing is examined by every government”:
OK, to save time – negative gearing is examined by every government. It is a major tax concession and always contentious and so it is always looked at – what does it cost? What would particular changes mean in terms of revenue and housing affordability[?]
There are many pages in my memoir describing the detailed consideration of negative gearing that went on in my government in which Peter Dutton was a cabinet minister.
Okay to save time – negative gearing is examined by every government. It is a major tax concession and always contentious and so it is always looked at – what does it cost? What would particular changes mean in terms of revenue and housing affordability. There are many pages in…
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) April 17, 2025
Sarah Basford Canales
Price calls media ‘obsessed’ with Trump
Nampijinpa Price also turned her sights on the media, who she accused of being “obsessed” with Trump over the weekend.
Although the media asked me whether my comments were an endorsement of Trumpian policy, they didn’t want to know the answer. Because despite my unequivocal answer that the Coalition would govern Australia for Australians, those comments didn’t make the headlines because they didn’t fit the separatist narrative.”
In her opinion piece, the senator claimed the media was “dumbing down” the comment she made by linking it to Trump’s rally cry.
Guardian Australia revealed on Sunday Nampijinpa Price had posted an image wearing a “make America great again” Christmas hat with her partner in December 2024, while holding a mini Trump tree decoration. Nampijinpa Price clarified the items had been gifts.
As an aside, the media also bears the burden of having made gifts I got at Christmas somehow more important than the cost-of-living crisis.
You can read more on that story here:
