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Dutton’s tax-deductible interest for first homebuyers is a breakthrough

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First homebuyers will benefit from tax deductible mortgage interest under Mr Dutton's policy. 

Like many conservatives, I have been waiting for something original from the Coalition that will differentiate them from the socialists. Labor has proven time and again that socialist approaches to housing affordability do not work. Today, I am pleased to report that Peter Dutton has announced an Australian first: First homebuyers will be eligible for tax deductions on their mortgage interest for new builds for the first five years of their mortgage.

This is great news, and the policy echoes my argument in the Speccie from this time last year: How about tax deductions for your home loan interest?

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Michael de Percy also watched the launch and picked out policies directed at homebuyers as the most important. ‘I am pleased to report that Peter Dutton has announced an Australian first: First homebuyers will be eligible for tax deductions on their mortgage interest for new builds for the first five years of their mortgage.’

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

Michael de Percy watched the Coalition launch, and was highly impressed with Dutton’s commitment to provide tax deductibility on mortgage interest to low- and middle-income first home buyers. Provided it’s offset, it’s sound and targeted policy, incentivising both buyers and sellers but not necessarily inflating home prices, and it’s a real difference from Labor’s foolish promise to build 100,000 new homes and guarantee $1,000 tax deductions for all. Marketed well, the mortgage interest deduction policy could have been the blockbuster barbeque-stopper the Coalition badly needed in the first week or even before the election was called: why they held it back until well into the campaign is a mystery. As for the Coalition’s tactics, today’s Newspoll tells the story, as the Coalition’s primary vote falls for the third week running. The only bright spot is that Labor’s primary vote is still historically low, and the minor parties and independents are the beneficiaries.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Dutton’s tax-deductible interest for first homebuyers is a breakthrough.

Albo isn’t winning, but the Coalition is losing

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Our next prime minister according to polls. Photo: Australian Government [CC BY 2.0]

Australians have every reason to be nervous about another three years of a Labor government. The last three years have seen our standard of living plummet, our prosperity nose-dive, and our savings all but gone. The most recent YouGov poll has Labor with a comfortable election-winning margin of 52.5 per cent two-party preferred against the Coalition’s 47.5 per cent. This is Labor’s best poll result since late 2023.

But Albo isn’t winning the election. The Coalition is losing it.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Albo isn’t winning, but the Coalition is losing.

Greens announce dumbest policy ever: ‘renters’ right to solar’

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The Greens are a clear and present danger to Australian society

Owning a rental property in Australia is becoming a complete farce. Why would you bother owning a rental property when renters can do whatever they want with your property? Adam Bandt’s latest socialist brainchild, the ‘Renters [sic] right to solar’, is the dumbest policy in Australian history.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Greens announce dumbest policy ever: ‘renters’ right to solar’.

Ted O’Brien was all over Chris Bowen like a wind turbine on an endangered bird

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Chris Bowen and Ted O'Brien face off in a political debate at the National Gallery of Australia.

From the National Press Club: I love the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), even if it’s gone so Woke that I can’t bring myself to be a member anymore. Today, the NGA was the battlefield for Speccie favourite, Chris ‘$275 cheaper’ Bowen, and Ted ‘too polished with little substance’ O’Brien for the National Press Club debate series. Clearly, the titles of Minister and Shadow Minister ‘for Climate Change and Energy’ indicate the level of importance your power bill matters to politicians.

The highlight was when some idiot protester – I picked this bloke as dodgy at the get-go – jumped up when Ted O’Brien began to speak and started shouting about ending coal and gas. The numerous AFP officers had the leftie protester out the door before I could get my phone out for a photo.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

...Ted O’Brien and Chris Bowen went toe-to-toe, with Bowen ultimately getting trampled all over. Or, as Michael de Percy put it, ‘Ted O’Brien was all over Chris Bowen like a wind turbine on an endangered bird.’

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

On the domestic dramas of our election, there was a bright spot for the Coalition yesterday. In a debate between energy spokesmen, the LNP’s Ted O’Brien made Chris Bowen look like the half-mad zealot and fanatic he’s proven to be, even to resembling Marty Feldman’s Igor in Young Frankenstein. Michael de Percy (now with caricature next his headline, denoting his cult status with our readers) gives an account of the debate, which was anything but Dullist. 

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Ted O’Brien was all over Chris Bowen like a wind turbine on an endangered bird.

Angus goes to the mattresses, majority don’t like Adam

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My Canberra Correspondent caricature for The Spectator Australia

Your Correspondent in Canberra: It was quite the day in the election campaign. Adam Bandt addressed a sparse-looking crowd at the National Press Club while Angus Taylor tore strips off Treasurer Jim Chalmers who cried ‘Uncle’ and asked Angus to ‘stop confusing me with your facts’. Chalmers’ charm and his obedient Lefties’ support all run out of steam at the supermarket checkout.

Adam Bandt has the answer. He will be Prime-Alt Minister. He will ensure Mr Dutton does not get in, and he will keep Labor under control using his stature and charisma. Further, you won’t have to worry about the checkout anymore because obviously the supermarkets, energy providers, service station owners, and every other business are taking the mick out of you.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Angus goes to the mattresses, majority don’t like Adam.

Albo and Dutton debate was a complete farce

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Politics is a metaphorical war. It is no place for civilians

Central to our two-party liberal democracy is political debate. Our system allows for peaceful revolutions at the ballot box. It requires our political leaders to fight so that we don’t have to. The current debate format that brings voters into the equation is a complete cop-out. It sucks. Instead of our leaders debating each other, they have to be nice to the voters participating in the debate show.

The contemporary political debate format where voters get to ask questions in the middle of the debate sucks. It is not good for our democracy.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:
Michael de Percy watched last night’s leaders’ debate and was unimpressed. You know what the debate told me? Instead of being about issues that really matter, this has become a Seinfeld election about nothing – when it should be about everything. De Percy effectively corroborated master Liberal campaigner Ian Hanke’s distaste for leaders’ debates. All that said, Peter Dutton deserves credit for performing solidly after just learning his father in Brisbane has had a heart attack, but Anthony Albanese was so gratingly on-message there was no winner (the audience polled gave it to Albanese by a decisive margin, an online poll said very differently). There were better things to do with one’s evening than watch this political version of World Championship Wrestling.
My latest in The Spectator Australia, Albo and Dutton debate was a complete farce.

Angus Taylor’s Budget Reply leaves conservatives wanting more

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Angus Taylor's post-budget reply at the National Press Club, 2 April 2025 
 

From the National Press Club: Australia has had record numbers of business failures on top of declining productivity. That means declining living standards. The Treasurer’s Budget will provide 70 cents a day in tax cuts and aggregate deficits of some $180 billion over the next five years. Mr Chalmers says we’ve ‘turned the corner’ in the cost-of-living crisis.

But what will Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor do?

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Angus Taylor’s Budget Reply leaves conservatives wanting more.

Impossible business growth underpins house of cards Budget

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National Press Club address by Dr Jim Chalmers, Treasurer, National Press Club, 26 March 2025

From Parliament House, Canberra: Last year Australia experienced record numbers of business failures. While the percentage of businesses was not as high as in 2013, the actual number of failed businesses was higher. Further, productivity growth, a key driver of living standards, has been negative and remains flat. Yet underpinning this election budget is a rebound in private sector growth that is difficult to justify.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

On the Budget, Michael de Percy was down at Parliament House today listening to Treasurer Jim Chalmers being questioned – but he didn’t get to ask his... Which is a shame, because I’m willing to bet Mr Chalmers would visibly squirm trying to answer it. You can read all about it here.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

Fresh from the Budget lock-up, Michael de Percy highlights how the Budget assumptions about private sector growth, and its ability to contribute to the revenue bottom line, are probably too good to be true. If so, the huge spending already locked in plus to be announced in the election campaign will incur even larger debt, and thus deficit, to cover the magic pudding profligacy that now has largely been endorsed by both sides.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Impossible business growth underpins house of cards Budget.

Regional Australians are the biggest budget losers

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Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers, Great Hall, Parliament House, 26 March 2025

From the Canberra Press Gallery: Regional Australia is the engine room of private sector activity in Australia. With the Budget set to see a reversal of the public sector’s growth that has hidden the real cost of living pressures experienced by most Australians, it is difficult to see how the Budget’s public sector and Net Zero focus will help the regions. To put it another way, regional Australians are the biggest losers in this Budget, with no relief in sight.

The night before I went into the Budget Lockup in Parliament House, Alexandra Marshall had this to say in the Unfiltered newsletter:
Of course, we have the Budget release and Speccie writer Michael de Percy has volunteered his sanity to go down and be part of the lockup. If you’re not already, follow us on Facebook where we’ll keep you updated. Michael is going to be looking for the crazy, infuriating, and outrageous detail in Chalmer’s major work that everyone else has missed. 
Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter before I went into the Budget Lockup, Terry Barnes had this to say:
Today is Budget day, and the Albanese government’s spendathon is tipped to continue. I see from Alexandra Marshall’s Unfiltered newsletter that our gallery correspondent Michael de Percy is going into the media lock-up to pore over the Budget papers, so you don’t have to. In the meantime, he’s written about what he doesn’t want to see in the Budget, and how the Albanese government weak leadership in economic policy is costing Australia dear as we become less efficient and productive. Meanwhile, Alexandra herself is flabbergasted at the brazenness of the Prime Minister’s latest pre-election handout.

The day after my article was released, Terry Barnes wrote in the Morning Double Shot newsletter:

Our man in the Budget lock-up, Michael de Percy, ran his acute political eye over the Budget, with a particular focus on how Chalmers’s effort will go down in regional Australia, where Labor needs to shore up support in areas like the Hunter, while pushing down Coalition support in regional Queensland, Tasmania, and elsewhere. Here is his report, and there’ll be more later today. 

Even our illustrious Editor-in-Chief, Rowan Dean, shared the joy:
It was quite the adventure for a first-time Press Gallery journalist, and it was great to be part of the Spectator Australia team!

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Regional Australians are the biggest budget losers.

Ranty Snippets

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My first Ranty Snippet on @SpectatorOz Facebook Page
 

We can’t afford Albo’s phoney election campaign

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Asking a question at the National Press Club address, 19 March 2025

From the National Press Club: Australia is in a phoney election campaign. We’re in that period where we know an election must be held by May 17 at the latest, but no election has been announced. The last day for the government to announce the election is April 14. The government must then enter caretaker mode and cannot make any major decisions. In my opinion, the Albanese government is deliberately using its position to campaign at public expense in the meantime.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, We can’t afford Albo’s phoney election campaign.

Paying for elections every three years is worth it

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Imagine another year of this government?
 

There’s an old joke about divorces. Do you know why they’re so expensive? Because they’re worth it.

Elections are no different. Mr Albanese wants four-year fixed terms. Apparently, Mr Dutton used to want four-year terms but then he didn’t, and now he does again.

Four-year terms might make their job easier. It might also save us some $60 billion in the next two decades. But do voters really want the federal government to have four years to mess with us? Or is it worth $3 billion each year to make our politicians work harder for us?

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

What do you reckon – give politicians an extra year in power? Albanese and Dutton are keen for four-year fixed terms, and it would save $60 billion over two decades, but Michael de Percy writes with a warning when it comes to extending the lifespan of the federal government. What do you think, is the risk worth the saving?

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

A recent think tank paper suggested that Australia moving from three to four-year electoral terms would save taxpayers $60 billion in direct and indirect costs over 20 years. Michael de Percy will have none of that. Three-year terms are more democratic he says. ‘If our governments really suck, they can be ended sooner’, pointing out that four-year lower house terms means eight-year Senate terms for all the crossbench fruit loops in the unrepresentative swill. But four-year terms also mean more reform and less playing to the peanut gallery, and some relief from the endless campaigning of three-year terms. If the Constitution must be amended on terms, why not make it a fixed four-year term for both Reps and Senate? That at least would keep the riff-raff factor down, especially if, at the same time, the nexus is broken between the size of the two Houses, so the Senate can be cut down to size and proportional representation with too-low quotas doesn’t throw up a clutch of numpties.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Paying for elections every three years is worth it.

Podcast interview with Leighton Smith

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My interview on the Leighton Smith Podcast, New Zealand
 

Leighton Smith Podcast #276 - March 19th 2025 - Michael De Percy

March 19, 2025 • 100 mins

Dr Michael De Percy is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Canberra. He graduated from both the Australian National University and the Royal Military College, Duntroon.  

He was also appointed to the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts in 2022. 

Sound interesting? I can only say that if he’d been my lecturer at ANU, I might well have chosen a different career path. Listen below.


Simon says Teals keen for costly minority government

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Simon Holmes a Court at the National Press Club, 12 March 2025

From the National Press Club: The disdain for conservatives was palpable in Simon Holmes à Court’s address at the National Press Club in Canberra on March 12. It is interesting that the son of Robert Holmes à Court, Australia’s first billionaire (known as the ‘Great Acquirer’), appears less aggressive in business than he is politics.

Holmes à Court sees the Liberal Party as a great, big ‘carbon bomb’ that will go off if the Coalition are able to form a majority government later this year.

The Teals and the Greens have, in my opinion, the potential to fracture the left much like the conservative parties are fracturing the right. Naturally, both sides of the minor parties are arguing that a minority government is better than the alternative of a Labor or Coalition majority government. Holmes à Court referred to those people who intend to vote outside the two major parties as ‘double haters’ who are likely to bring about a minority government.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Michael de Percy has been down in Canberra keeping an eye on Simon Holmes à Court at the National Press Club. The billionaire green energy enthusiast wasted no time in calling the Coalition the ‘greatest threat to climate action’ and then, bizarrely, took aim at their nuclear plan. Here is what he said…

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Simon says Teals keen for costly minority government.

Trumpet of Patriots announces a Liberal election platform

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Clive Palmer addressing the National Press Club of Australia, 13 March 2025
 

From the National Press Club: Clive Palmer’s address on March 13 delivered the first tranche of the Trumpet of Patriot’s election platform. While one regional newspaper took issue with humans being either male or female, conservative voters will find little to disagree with in what is otherwise a common-sense policy platform.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Michael de Percy endured the National Press Club of Australia for a good cause. He was able to put a question to Clive Palmer on the topic of the upcoming Federal Election. Palmer was his usual bombastic self, wasting no time telling the room exactly what he thinks of the politicians in Canberra.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

Our Michael de Percy and Clive Palmer are on a unity ticket on one thing; they both lump the Liberal and Labor parties together as the Uniparty. Having heard and questioned Palmer at the National Press Club last week, de Percy came away feeling that Palmer’s platform is far more Menzian than the Liberals’. He worries about the conservative vote being fractured between the Coalition, Palmer and various others, and he’s right. The only way to be sure of beating Labor and its further Left allies is to not to waste primary votes in ‘protest’ at the Liberals’ flabbiness, and use them to ensure that Labor is voted out in May, and not 2028. If that means swallowing hard and voting Liberal or National, don’t rule it out if you’re unhappy with them.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Trumpet of Patriots announces a Liberal election platform.

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