TRANSCRIPT – ABC RADIO GOLD COAST

Angie Bell MP
Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education
Shadow Minister for Youth
Federal Member for Moncrieff

TRANSCRIPT

ABC RADIO GOLD COAST – MORNINGS WITH SARAH CUMMING

17 May 2024

Subjects: Budget in Reply; Housing; Migration; Impact Gold Coast Youth Summit

E&OE…………………………

SARAH CUMMING:
Angie Bell joined me a little earlier. Angie, good morning. Why do you think we need to reduce migration by so much?

ANGIE BELL MP:
Thanks for having me on your show, Sarah. Migration is tied absolutely to housing and what we’re seeing in Australia, and on the Gold Coast is families, children, women living in cars, living in tents. The Albanese Government is simply not delivering on its promises around housing.

I think Peter Dutton, his diagnosis of the country last night was spot on when he talked about our country being off the rails and wanting a better future for Australia. I heard him this morning on the ABC as well talking about his passion for helping those people who at the moment are homeless. If we can’t look after our own population, how can we look after those huge migration numbers that the Albanese Government has allowed to come into our country.

Migration is a great thing don’t get me wrong, you know migrants have helped to build our country, but 928,000 migrants in two years is excessive. Peter has looked at those numbers and decided that in order to house the Australian population, we need to scale back a little bit. A 25 per cent reduction from 185,000 to 140,000 in the first two years, is pretty much recognition of the crisis that Australians find themselves in. It makes sense.

SARAH CUMMING:
So are you saying that the opposition will reduce migration to a similar level? So you agree with the federal government in terms of how much they want to reduce migration by?

ANGIE BELL MP:
The Federal Government has brought in 928,000 migrants in two years. Those people are already here in the country. And so, it’s about how do we house the people that we already have in Australia? And how do we manage those who are coming to the nation in the future? So, to put a cap on the next two years, and then increase upward after that is a way of managing the problem that we have at the moment with those people who are living in their cars, and we see that on the Gold Coast as well.

SARAH CUMMING:
Certainly, an issue though, for Gold Coast businesses who desperately need hospitality workers, construction companies desperately need tradies here on the Gold Coast and our universities, in fact, are reliant on international students. What sort of impact do you think this reduction in migration will have on all of those areas of our life here on the Gold Coast?

ANGIE BELL MP:
Well, we know that we do have a shortage of workforce but this policy that Peter’s announced last night is not going to impact skilled workers. Sure, at the moment there are, in the international students’ sector, there has been a massive increase, a huge spike that the Government has allowed and that will be reined back. There’ll be a cap placed on that for the metropolitan universities, to make to make sure that we can manage those numbers and I think that’s really important for our economy.

SARAH CUMMING:
Do you think it will have a negative impact on businesses though and make it more difficult for them to find workers?

ANGIE BELL MP:
Well, I think at the moment, we’re seeing hospitality on the Gold Coast is going quite well. We’re using the migrants that we currently have in Australia and on the Gold Coast to work in hospitality. We’re allowing increased hours for those who are currently here and that will fill part of that gap, Sarah.

SARAH CUMMING:
In terms of inflation, obviously, it’s been a big topic of discussion this week with the energy bill rebate that was announced. Do you welcome that rebate?

ANGIE BELL MP:
We will support the rebate of $300 for each household. However, this is a band aid solution, and it really hasn’t addressed the major concern that we have and the major concern that Australians have, which is inflation.

Australians are struggling with the cost of living at the moment. Food is up ten per cent, housing is up 12 per cent, gas is up 25 per cent and electricity, of course, which is so important in the household costs is up by 18 per cent and the Labor Government have now had three cracks at this, three budgets and they’ve failed to address what is most pressing for Australians, which is the cost of living crisis.

This $300 is simply a band aid, and it’s far less than what the Prime Minister actually promised at the beginning of the election period last time, and so Australians really are not better off under this Government.

If you think back, Sarah, have a think back to two years ago and I ask your listeners to do that as well. Under a Coalition Government, were you better off then than you are now? And the answer is yes, you were.

SARAH CUMMING:
There were obviously many challenges in terms of affordable housing. How else do you think we need to address that issue to make housing simply more affordable? Whether it’s a rental, whether it’s a home to purchase, what other levers can be pulled to improve that market right now?

ANGIE BELL MP:
Well, I think Australians know that the Prime Minister is not going to be able to deliver on his promises when it comes to the numbers of new houses. Houses don’t just spring up overnight. They take time to build, and the construction sector is down by about 11 per cent as well.

What Peter Dutton outlined last night is to bring back the great Australian dream of home ownership. Everybody should be able to own their own home or at least have the ability to save towards that goal. Young people in Australia that I speak to and on the Gold Coast are absolutely disappointed that they’ve had to let go of that dream. And it’s something where you can build your life, your family, your work life in a home that belongs to the family.

What Peter Dutton has outlined last night, in his Budget in Reply speech, is that Australians will be able to access $50,000 out of their super for a deposit on their first home and I think that’s so very, very important. Remember if we have enough homes for Australians, and we don’t have too many migrants coming into the country that there’s a shortfall between migration and housing, which there is at the moment, then housing prices will come down. They will moderate because it’s all about supply and demand when you’re talking about housing.

SARAH CUMMING:
Any concerns with people sort of raiding their nest egg though to buy a property and where that leaves them at the other end of their life?

ANGIE BELL MP:
Well, that money will then have to go back into their super if they sell a home. But that’s a policy that is underway. I’m sure we will hear more details about that policy as we head into the next election, which of course, is up to a year away, but could be anytime from August.

SARAH CUMMING:
Angie Bell, Member for Moncrieff, thank you. Is there anything else you would like to add?

ANGIE BELL MP:
I would just like to quickly highlight that the Youth Impact Summit, number two, is going ahead on the 31st of May and 1st of June at SeaWorld Resort. Thanks to SeaWorld Foundation for their generous support for that initiative. And I think there’s still a few places left so any young people aged 15 to 24 (SIC) on the Gold Coast, please go to our website and have a look at Gold Coast Youth Impact.

SARAH CUMMING:
What’s the aim of that summit, Angie?

ANGIE BELL MP:
The aim is to deliver opportunities for young Gold Coasters. We have educational institutions and community groups. We have fantastic guest speakers who inspire young people, but also broaden their horizons with new networks and new fantastic opportunities that we have there.

SARAH CUMMING:
Angie you will be able to get out and about and enjoy any of the Blues on Broadbeach Festival this weekend or will you still be in Canberra?

ANGIE BELL MP:
No, I’m coming home this morning so I should be able to go to Broadbeach on Saturday or Sunday.

SARAH CUMMING:
Beautiful. Well, enjoy. Thanks for your time this morning.

ANGIE BELL MP:
Thank you.

[ends]