Live: Government defends budget housing tax changes as market cools

live Federal politics live: Government defends budget housing tax changes The government has again defended its housing tax changes included in the budget after a fresh report suggested house prices fell again in June. Follow all the updates in our live blog. Submit a comment or question Live updates Wed 1 Jul 2026 at 7:29am 'A bit befuddling': Butler on speculation he's next in line to lead Labor Circling back to Mark Butler's interview on ABC's News Breakfast for a moment. There's been a lot of chatter in recent months over whether the South Australian MP could be anointed as Anthony Albanese's successor when he decides to retire. Butler is a senior member of Labor's left faction and is one of the PM's key allies. But he say she has "no idea" why his name keeps being thrown around as a potential future leader. "It's all a bit befuddling," he said. We’re only a year into a term where our prime minister, Anthony Albanese, won a really significant victory with a really big agenda that we're all working together to deliver in incredibly tough times. "Our job as a team that has the privilege of governing this country is to work together under a leader in Anthony Albanese that I feel privileged to support" Wed 1 Jul 2026 at 7:27am What's new from today? It's the start of a new financial year so you know what that means: a bunch of new measures will start rolling out. From today, the government says more than 14 million Australians will get a tax cut of up to $268 dollars. Paid Parental Leave expands from 24 weeks to a full six months while major supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths are now subject to new laws tackling price gouging. The three-month halving of the fuel excise has come to an end, with the discount dropping down to 16 cents per litre, as the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge rises to 16 cents per litre. Both measures are expected to taper off completely in August. Wed 1 Jul 2026 at 7:23am Cooling house prices not due to budget but 'cyclical market': O'Neil Housing Minister Clare O'Neil was also grilled about the latest monthly data on house prices. Property data firm Cotality reports national home values fell 0.4 per cent in June — the biggest monthly decline since December 2022. Sydney and Melbourne led the downturn. O'Neil stuck pretty close to the Labor lines when asked by Seven this morning, also reiterating that house prices will continue to grow over the medium term. "This is a cyclical market, and the main thing that drives movement in house prices from month to month and year to year is what goes on with interest rates," she said. She said the housing tax changes included in the budget (restricting negative gearing to newly built homes and replacing the 50 per cent capital gains discount with an inflation-indexed model) was about levelling the playing field in the market. "The Treasury modelling shows us the impact of the government's tax changes will have a modest affordability effect on the market," she says. Wed 1 Jul 2026 at 7:02am 'Prices will continue to grow': Butler 'confident' in Treasury modelling Health Minister Mark Butler has again backed the modelling underpinning the government's housing tax package despite a drop in house prices. According to property data firm Cotality, dwelling values fell 0.4 per cent nationally in June. Butler told ABC's News Breakfast that it was normal for house prices to "jump around a little bit" but didn't think that was as a result of changes in the budget. Rather, a softening in prices and auction clearance rates was due to interest rate rises, and the "biggest hit" the Iran war caused to consumer confidence had more of an impact. The Labor frontbencher said was "very confident" in Treasury's modelling. The modelling included in the budget suggests house prices would continue to rise, albeit at a slower rate. "They've thought about it very carefully. The history of house prices in Australia is one of growth ... and that doesn't mean there won't be a week here or a week there that you get particular numbers," he said. "But we're very confident in Treasury's forecasts. House prices, house values for existing owners, will continue to grow. "They'll just grow a little bit more softly for a period than otherwise would have happened." Wed 1 Jul 2026 at 6:55am Housing market weakened further in June The biggest monthly decline in home values in more than three years has been recorded as the housing market slowdown that began in Sydney and Melbourne spreads across the country. According to property data firm Cotality, dwelling values fell 0.4 per cent nationally in June. Sydney led the decline, falling by 1.2 per cent, while Melbourne values dropped 1 per cent. The once-booming markets of Brisbane and Perth are still rising but at a much slower pace. Adelaide was flat, suggesting momentum is waning in almost every capital city. Read more at the link below. Wed 1 Jul 2026 at 6:51am Good morning 👋 Hi friends, welcome to our politics live blog. I'm Courtney Gould from the ABC's Parliament House team, here to guide you through the day. From house prices, to consultancy firms, gambling reforms and the start of the new financial year, it's all going on today. So without further ado let's jumps straight into it. Loading