TRANSCRIPT

THE HON PETER COSTELLO MP

TREASURER

Doorstop Interview

Eight Mile Plains

Tuesday, 14 September 2004

12.20pm

TREASURER:

Well it is official now, not only does Labor’s tax policy make families

worse off where the mother is looking after children at home, but the Labor

Party has been caught out trying to deceive people. So they make them worse

off and then they try to deceive people about the fact that they were worse

off.

Mr Latham has been forced into a humiliating concession today on Melbourne

radio, yes his policy makes families worse off where the mother stays at

home to look after children. And what’s particularly vicious about this

tax policy is that the people who are made worse off the most are low income

earners. Now that is, he wants to take money off low income earners where

mum stays at home to look after the children. And normally you would think

that a tax policy would be about helping low income earners.

But Mr Latham has a policy which punishes single income families where

mum stays at home to look after the kids. He tried to deny it for seven

days, he has been in denial, he has been caught out and he has actually

conceded in a humiliating concession on Melbourne radio today.

Now the best thing that can happen for this policy is that Mr Latham can

go and try and do it again.

The second thing that he ought to do is he ought to have this independently

costed because the way in which it has begun unravelling today is not the

only problem. It has substantial costing problems. I call upon the Australian

Labor Party today to have the independent costing of Finance and Treasury

done on this tax policy so all Australians can see what it really means,

what it really costs and what its weaknesses are.

JOURNALIST:

Mr Costello, there has been some new housing figures come out this morning,

showing an increase in new home building. What are your comments?

TREASURER:

The figures that were released today were in relation to private dwelling

units and they indicate that the market is pretty stable. Over the course

of the first part of this year there has been a slight decline. We think

that is consistent with an economy in which the housing sector is coming

off the kind of increases that we saw in recent years. We believe it is

consistent with other forward indicators in relation to finance and lending

which show that the housing market it beginning to plateau in Australia.

JOURNALIST:

But it is good news, I mean, it has gone up slightly.

TREASURER:

Well, the fact that it has plateaued over the course of the first part

of this year is good news. It is consistent with a slowing of growth. Okay.

Thank you.