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.