Australia

Australia: Albanese Launches Labor Party's Election Campaign

APR 13 2025·Updated APR 28 2025

Story

Above: Anthony Albanese during the Labor Party federal election campaign launch in Perth on April 13, 2025. Image credit: Matt Jelonek/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Facts

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese launched the Labor Party's election campaign in Perth on Sunday, announcing a universal 5% deposit scheme for first-home buyers without income caps and pledging AU$10 billion (US$6 billion) to build 100,000 homes exclusively for first-time buyers.
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ABC
ALP
In a speech where he accused Liberal-National coalition leader Peter Dutton of aping U.S. President Donald Trump, Albanese said that a second-term Labor government wouldn't build Australia's future on "copying policies from anywhere else" but on "the Australian people."
SBS News
Au
The Labor government has committed to building 1.2 million homes by 2030 to address housing shortages. On Sunday, Albanese introduced a new AU$1,000 "instant tax deduction" for work expenses starting from 2026-27.
ABC
SBS News
Meanwhile, at the coalition's campaign launch in Sydney the same day, Dutton pledged to fix the housing crisis should he win the election with a plan allowing first-time buyers of new homes to deduct mortgage interest payments from their taxable income, limited to the first AU$650,000 of a mortgage.
Reuters
SBS News
Brecorder
Under Dutton's plan, taxpayers earning between AU$48,000 and AU$104,000 will receive a AU$1,200 offset on next year's tax return. The plan, limited to a year, will be tapered so that taxpayers earning below AU$48,000 and between AU$104,000 and AU$144,000 yearly receive a smaller offset.
ABC
The Age
According to the latest Resolve Strategic poll, Labor has increased its primary vote from 39% to 42%, while the Coalition has dropped from 30% to 28%. Additionally, Albanese leads in the poll as the preferred prime minister at 55% to Dutton's 21%.
The Canberra Times
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The Spin

Australian Labor Party narrative

The Labor government's housing plan provides a practical pathway to homeownership without forcing Australians to sacrifice their retirement savings. It also simultaneously addresses supply issues through significant investment in new housing stock for first-home buyers.

ALP

Liberal Party narrative

The coalition's approach offers a more fiscally responsible solution by incentivizing new home construction through tax deductions and avoiding the risks of government guarantees that could further inflate housing prices and create additional market pressures.

Liberal Party of Australia