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‘It’s time to fuel our engines of growth’...May 23, 2019  · the threat of Labor’s negative...

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V1 - AUSE01Z01MA ELECTION 19 • MIRACLE VICTORY THE AUSTRALIAN THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2019 theaustralian.com.au 5 MICHAEL RODDAN JOYCE MOULLAKIS Home buyers and sellers are coming “out of the woodwork” after Scott Morrison’s election victory, which is tipped to spark a dramatic rise in auction listings and arrest the slide in house prices. Principal buyers agent at OH Property Group in Sydney Henny Stier said the market had been reinvigorated by the Coalition’s election win. “What is interesting is that I was speaking to some agents who MICHAEL RODDAN Josh Frydenberg has declared the economy needs a “pro-growth strategy” as construction work and home building continue to fall across the country and leading indicators of employment growth hit record lows. The Treasurer, who yesterday met the nation’s top financial reg- ulators in Sydney, said the econ- omy still faced headwinds, international trade tensions be- tween the US and China were weighing on growth and drought and floods in recent months had had a “significant impact” on economic activity. Mr Frydenberg met Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe and the deputy chairs of the banking regulator after the central bank this week signalled two imminent cuts to official interest rates that would put the cash rate at a new low and after the Australian Pru- dential Regulation Authority launched a shake-up of rules that had kept lower-income borrowers out of the housing market. “The Australian economy faces headwinds both internationally and domestically,” Mr Frydenberg told a conference in Sydney. “The housing market has slowed. We’ve seen the budget forecast for dwelling investment, which had been growing at about 5.5 per cent per annum on average over the last five years, forecast to be down 7 per cent in 2019-20, then another 4 per cent the year after.” His comments came as the Australian Bureau of Statistics said construction work done over the March quarter fell 1.9 per cent — a slide that was led by falling rates of home building and engin- eering work. “There was confirmation that the home building sector is in a sharp downturn, after work peaked in mid-2018,” Westpac ‘It’s not the time for higher taxes; it’s the time for a pro-growth strategy JOSH FRYDENBERG TREASURER One Senate seat marks gloomy Labor outlook in battleground state Labor is on track to secure a sole Senate seat in Queensland, deliv- ering a major blow to the party and its worst upper-house result in the key battleground state since 1949. A failure to win two upper- house seats in the Sunshine State would reflect Labor’s poor show- ing in the House of Representa- tives, where the party is predicted to win just six of 30 Queensland electorates — a net loss of two. Labor MPs said the same issues in lower-house seats in the state — equivocation over the Adani coal- mine and an ambitious policy agenda that included contentious changes to negative gearing and dividend imputation credits — were at play in the Senate. The Coalition meanwhile is on track to pick up three Senate seats in every state and in a best-case scenario could control 35 votes in the upper house, meaning it would need the support of just four cross- benchers to pass legislation. This would significantly bolster Scott Morrison’s power in the Senate. Labor has won two seats in every half-Senate election in Queensland since Australia adopted proportional represent- ation in 1949. Centre Alliance senators Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick, former Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie and the Australian Conservatives’ Cory Bernardi. The Turnbull gov- ernment introduced controversial Senate voting reforms before the 2016 double-dissolution election that abolished group voting tickets, making it harder for inde- pendent candidates to get elected on the back of preferences. All seats are due to be declared on or before June 28, with Senate seats to be finalised after those in the House of Representatives. Labor traditionally wins at least two Senate seats in each state but in 2013 it picked up only one in South Australia and in Western Australia because of competition from the Nick Xenophon Team and Palmer United Party. ROSIE LEWIS THE SENATE Coalition Labor Greens Centre Alliance One Nation Aust Conservatives Lambie TOTAL 35 26 9 2 2 1 1 76 Likely outcome Coalition on course to buffer its electoral clout As of late yesterday, the Liberal National Party was expected to pick up three seats, while Labor, the Greens and One Nation were on track to win one each. Nita Green is No 1 on Labor’s Queensland Senate ticket while incumbent senator Chris Ketter, first elected in 2013, is No 2 and would miss out. “We’re definitely concerned. The new voting system makes it a bit harder to predict. (Mr Ketter) may fall short,” Labor sources said. “It’ll be a couple of weeks until we know (the final Senate results).” In the 45th parliament the Coalition had 30 senators and had to wrangle a crossbench that at one stage grew to 12 independents. If Nationals candidate Perin Davey, No 3 on the Coalition’s NSW Senate ticket, is elected, it would be the first time the party had six female MPs in federal parliament. Nationals sources were “feeling good but not certain” about Ms Davey’s chances. The new crossbench is likely to include One Nation leader Paul- ine Hanson and fellow Queens- land colleague Malcolm Roberts, The Liberal Party has high hopes of sneaking over the line in the western Sydney seat of Macquarie, which would take its tally in the House of Representatives to 78, after it had a 196-vote lead last night following postal and absentee vote counting. One senior Liberal source said that, barring “1000 votes being found in the wrong pile” in a recount, the party looked like snaring the seat by anything up to 400 votes, given the trend being shown in postal and absentee votes. So far, postal votes have gone Liberal candidate Susan Richards’s way, splitting roughly 57 per cent to 43 per cent, according to Liberal scrutineers. Absentee votes have gone the Liberals’ way, 52 to 48 per cent, and with about 2000 more absentee votes to be counted, they would have to be trending the other way for Labor’s Susan Templeman to keep the seat. The Liberal Party led the seat last night with 50.11 per cent of the vote to 49.89 and a recount appeared certain. Since neighbouring Lindsay was created in 1984, Labor has held Macquarie only when it also held Lindsay, which it lost this election. Although the Blue Mountains part of the electorate tends to go Labor’s way, the Hawkesbury area is more conservative. If Labor lost Macquarie, two of the three western Sydney seats won thanks to the “Mediscare” campaign run by the Labor Party against Malcolm Turnbull in 2016 would return to the government. A third seat, Macarthur, remains in Labor hands. Scott Morrison was seen as a better bet in western Sydney for the “Howard battlers” than Malcolm Turnbull, and this proved the case on Saturday. As counting continued yesterday in other seats in doubt, it appeared that Labor’s Anika Wells had won Wayne Swan’s former seat of Lilley, leading by 0.6 per cent or 1002 votes. The Liberals looked likely to narrowly win Bass in northern Tasmania, with candidate Bridget Archer ahead by 0.38 per cent or 504 votes. Cowan in Perth has become a tighter contest but Labor incumbent Anne Aly is ahead by 0.5 per cent of the vote, or 757 votes. Concerns that One Nation could finish ahead of the Nationals and cause Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon some problems in the seat of Hunter appeared to have dissipated last night, with Mr Fitzgibbon ahead by 2.65 per cent. The national two-party- preferred vote for the Coalition last night was at 51.2 per cent to Labor’s 48.8 per cent. ANDREW CLENNELL HOUSE OF REPS Coalition Labor Greens KAP Centre Alliance Independents TOTAL 78 67 1 1 1 3 151 Likely outcome SEATS IN DOUBT MACQUARIE, NSW Liberal 196 ahead with 87.55% counted BASS, Tasmania Liberal 504 ahead with 89.1% counted UPPER HOUSE LOWER HOUSE economist Andrew Hanlan said. “This follows a strong and ex- tended upswing over recent years which saw supply largely catch up with demand.” Westpac’s leading index, which indicates the likely pace of econ- omic growth into the near term, also fell further over the past month, driven by further declines in approvals for dwelling construc- tion. The result was “a clear signal that economic growth through the three quarters of 2019 is likely to be below trend”, Westpac chief econ- omist Bill Evans said. Meanwhile, official data re- vealed the weakest rate of growth in skilled jobs vacancies in five years as the Department of Jobs and Small Business figures fell to their lowest point in two years. Mr Frydenberg said the “im- pact of a slowdown in the housing market is also being felt, so it’s not the time for higher taxes; it’s the time for a pro-growth strategy”. Dr Lowe this week urged Canberra to drive reforms to tax policy, infrastructure spending and the education sectors to help support longer term economic growth. Mr Frydenberg cited his plan- ned tax cuts for lower and middle income earners, which is due to provide relief for households over coming months, the Coalition’s $100 billion infrastructure spend- ing plans and its support for apprenticeships as key reforms to be launched by the government. “Tax is really important, so we have not just immediate relief but we also have a long-term struc- tural change,” he said. He noted the Coalition govern- ment’s plan to remove some in- come tax brackets and address bracket creep. Citi economist Josh Williams said the disappointing construc- tion figures meant annual GDP growth would likely slow even fur- ther to 1.7 per cent, down from an already sub-par 2.3 per cent. “The leading indicators of em- ployment growth such as job ad- vertisements and vacancies are weakening,” CommSec chief economist Craig James said. “With … unemployment rates ‘stuck’ at around 6 per cent in Tas- mania, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, the Reserve Bank appears likely to pull the interest rate lever at its June 4 meeting,” Mr James said. BUSINESS P17 ‘It’s time to fuel our engines of growth’ JOHN FEDER OH Property Group principal buyers agent Henny Stier, at a house she sold in Sydney’s Roseville, is confident of a housing market resurgence Agents’ phones now ‘ringing like crazy’ are saying their phones have been ringing like crazy since Monday,” Ms Stier said. “Most inner-city housing mar- kets seem to be holding up. We’re hearing people saying: ‘Now we’re going to start to list our properties.’ We can start to see the level of supply increase again. That brings the buyers out of the woodwork.” Analysts are expecting the nation’s housing markets to be reignited after Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe indicated this week that two rate cuts would be needed to stop unemployment rising and get inflation back up to its target band, hinting the cash rate would be dropped to a new record low on June 4. Property enthusiasts are also buoyed after the unexpected Coalition re-election, which ended the threat of Labor’s negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms, and after the banking regulator eased onerous restric- tions on borrowers securing loans in a bid to reduce the squeeze on home buyers. This will allow borrowers to add about $60,000 more to a home loan of $1 million without any change in income. Daniel Yu, a senior analyst at global ratings agency Moody’s, said yesterday the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s move would “help support credit growth and could stem falling house prices”. “Improving access to credit will support credit growth for the banks, which has declined signifi- cantly from its peak in 2014, and in turn stem the fall in house prices. Falling house prices are dampen- ing household consumption and contributing to a weaker growth outlook for Australia,” Mr Yu said. Listed residential developer Stockland emerged yesterday as one of the biggest winners from the re-election of the Morrison government and a relaxation of prudential lending rules. The group’s stock price has jumped in the last two trading days. Ms Stier said the property market had been hit by a slow- down in listings because sellers were wary of dumping their house into a soft property market. “Some markets have held better than others, such as suburbs close to the city or within 20km of the CBD. Prices there have held up fairly well,” Ms Stier said. “The problem has been a lack of supply. Since Easter I’ve noticed a huge surge in inspection numbers at what we call the entry price point of about $1m.” ECONOMY PROPERTY Australia’s first indigenous minis- ter Ken Wyatt is likely to make history a second time if his request to become indigenous affairs min- ister is granted by Scott Morrison. Mr Wyatt confirmed to The Australian he had told the Prime Minister before the federal elec- tion that, if the Coalition won, he would like to take on the portfolio vacated by retiring indigenous affairs minister Nigel Scullion. It would mean that Mr Wyatt, a Nyoongar man born in a former mission for Stolen Generations children, would become the nation’s first Aboriginal minister to hold the portfolio of his people and the first to take a seat in the Coalition’s inner cabinet. It is not the first time Mr Wyatt has expressed interest in the port- folio. In an interview in 2016 after he became the first indigenous federal frontbencher and assistant minister for health, he told The Australian: “If down the track that opportunity were offered to me, I’d take it.” Last week, Mr Wyatt was given strong endorsement for his minis- terial skills by his friend John Howard, who campaigned with him in Mr Wyatt’s outer-Perth electorate of Hasluck. Mr Howard urged shoppers to vote Mr Wyatt back for a fourth time since he took Hasluck from Labor in 2010. “Look out for him, he’s a good man,” the elder statesman said. Mr Wyatt, who is currently communities was a major concern, but he had also been told by a com- munity-controlled health organis- ation in Hasluck that it had dealt with seven suicides. Since winning Hasluck with an almost 3.5 per cent swing, Mr Wyatt’s first public comments have been to endorse the “twin- ning” of European names of cities and locations with traditional Aboriginal names. He was responding to a pro- posal by Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt to add the Nyoongar name “Walyalup” to the port city’s name as part of its reconciliation plan. “I would welcome any local government across this nation doing what Fremantle is propos- ing,” Mr Wyatt said. “The dual naming and the rec- ognition of traditional Aboriginal names that prevailed before settle- ment is a great way for our whole state to move.” He said New Zealand was a good model to follow in the way it incorporated Maori language into everyday life. But he said he also observed in Australia “a growing pride in hav- ing the duality and the recognition of one of the oldest living cultures and the retention of their language names to locations”. A former parliamentary chair of the committee on constitutional recognition, Mr Wyatt has sup- ported some form of recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait peo- ples within the Constitution and last week praised the late former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke for his outstanding support of indi- genous people. VICTORIA LAURIE MARIE NIRME Hasluck MP Ken Wyatt is gunning for indigenous affairs Portfolio pitch sees Wyatt eager to reach another first nations milestone Aged Care and Indigenous Health Minister, has declined to elaborate further on his portfolio preference, saying it was up to the Prime Min- ister. It is understood he has sup- port from several senior ministers for the indigenous affairs portfolio, but faces a possible rival in Alan Tudge, the Minister for Cities and Urban Infrastructure. He said indigenous suicide in Western Australia’s Kimberley ‘The recognition of traditional Aboriginal names is a great way to move’ KEN WYATT AGED CARE MINISTER INDIGENOUS Nationals MPs will thrash-out their demands for a new Coalition agreement at a partyroom meet- ing in Canberra today, with some urging the government to strengthen its efforts to under- write a new coal-fired power plant in Queensland. There will be no push to throw open the leadership, with Michael McCormack set to remain as Nationals leader after the party performed strongly at the election and received large swings in Queensland marginals. The surprise victory for the Coalition, which was on track last night to win up to 78 seats, has de- fused any early push by Barnaby Joyce to regain the leadership. The former leader will not attend today’s meeting. Some Nationals MPs privately argue that Mr McCormack will need to show he can muscle-up to the Liberal Party, with Saturday’s victory seen as a major endorse- ment of Scott Morrison and his presidential-style campaign. Victorian Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie is also expected to stay on as deputy, despite con- cerns about her engagement with the backbench. An early test for Mr McCor- mack will be whether the Nation- als negotiate five or four seats at the cabinet table and if the minor Coalition partner can secure other senior portfolios amid speculation MPs will push to regain the trade ministry from the Liberals. On current figures, there will be 21 Nationals in the new parlia- ment. This means the Nationals will comprise about 19 per cent of the joint partyroom if 35 Coalition senators are elected and the gov- ernment wins a majority of 78 in the House of Representatives. Nationals strategists suggested this would see the party holding only four seats in cabinet, arguing there was no reason for the Prime Minister to agree to a fifth. Mr Morrison has not run as a conservative on energy policy, re- jecting arguments to pull Australia out of the Paris climate accord. He also unveiled a shortlist of a dozen energy projects that the govern- ment would consider underwrit- ing. These were focused on gas and hydro projects in Victoria, NSW and South Australia, and only one “very small” coal upgrade in NSW. But some Nationals MPs told The Australian the large swings against Labor in central Queens- land represented an endorsement of the Coalition’s commitment to a feasibility study into a new high- efficiency low-emission (HELE) coal-fired power plant proposed for Collinsville. Michelle Landry, who received an 11 per cent swing in the seat of Capricornia, argued for the gov- ernment to “move” on advancing the development of cheaper power options. “I think the swing in Queens- land was certainly about support- ing the coal sector,” she said. “People want something done about power prices. Cost of living is still one of the biggest issues. I think we’ve got to move on it.” Her LNP colleague Keith Pitt, who received a swing of 6 per cent in Hinkler, said the election was a “victory for common sense”. “The Australian people very clearly endorsed our policies, which were sensible and balanced positions on climate change and on electricity generation and not forcing people to buy electric cars,” he said. “It was about jobs. There’s a lesson there for the Labor Party, who no longer represent working people.” JOE KELLY Backers of coal in call for action NATIONALS ROSIE LEWIS Failed independent candidate and Liberal defector Julia Banks has taken a parting shot at her former party, lashing out at alleged “tribalism and toxic culture” as her political career comes to an end. A staunch Turnbull loyalist, Ms Banks also praised the “authentic and inspiring leadership” of Mal- colm Turnbull and his deputy, Julie Bishop, saying serving under them was her “greatest honour”. While congratulating the Lib- eral Party in a statement yester- day, which effectively conceded defeat in the seat of Flinders, she hit out at the “right-wing con- servative faction”. Ms Banks, elec- ted to Chisholm in 2016, quit the Liberals and sat on the crossbench after Mr Turnbull lost the prime ministership, blaming bullying, in- timidation and leadership turmoil. “My hope is that the right-wing conservative faction don’t con- tinue to drown out addressing cli- mate change emergency nor the Australian ethos of equality for all and humanitarian spirit,” she said. “Sadly, the tribalism and toxic culture (in the Liberal Party) con- tinued. The reprisals and retri- bution, whispering campaigns, personal attacks and name- calling, social media rants, mess- ages and emails from the puerile to the offensive, and defamatory alle- gations and lies were unrelenting. “To those in the Liberal Party including some current and for- mer members of parliament who engaged in this behaviour, I say this: You don’t own me — you never did. And I don’t ‘owe a debt to you’. It’s a free country for peo- ple to run for office and advocate for what they believe in. To the haters generally whose disturbing behaviour adds to the toxic politi- cal culture, I say this: Stop.” At noon yesterday, Ms Banks had 14.43 per cent of the primary vote (11,920 votes) compared with 46.63 per cent (38,518 votes) for Liberal Greg Hunt. Defeated Banks fires last angry shot at Libs DEFECTOR
Transcript
Page 1: ‘It’s time to fuel our engines of growth’...May 23, 2019  · the threat of Labor’s negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms, and after the banking regulator eased onerous

V1 - AUSE01Z01MA

ELECTION 19 • MIRACLE VICTORY ELECTION 19 • MIRACLE VICTORY THE AUSTRALIAN THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2019

theaustralian.com.au 5

MICHAEL RODDANJOYCE MOULLAKIS

Home buyers and sellers arecoming “out of the woodwork”after Scott Morrison’s electionvictory, which is tipped to spark adramatic rise in auction listingsand arrest the slide in house prices.

Principal buyers agent at OHProperty Group in Sydney HennyStier said the market had beenreinvigorated by the Coalition’selection win.

“What is interesting is that Iwas speaking to some agents who

MICHAEL RODDAN

Josh Frydenberg has declared theeconomy needs a “pro-growthstrategy” as construction work andhome building continue to fallacross the country and leadingindicators of employment growthhit record lows.

The Treasurer, who yesterdaymet the nation’s top financial reg-ulators in Sydney, said the econ-omy still faced headwinds,international trade tensions be-tween the US and China wereweighing on growth and droughtand floods in recent months hadhad a “significant impact” oneconomic activity.

Mr Frydenberg met ReserveBank governor Philip Lowe andthe deputy chairs of the banking

regulator after the central bankthis week signalled two imminentcuts to official interest rates thatwould put the cash rate at a newlow and after the Australian Pru-dential Regulation Authoritylaunched a shake-up of rules thathad kept lower-income borrowersout of the housing market.

“The Australian economy facesheadwinds both internationallyand domestically,” Mr Frydenbergtold a conference in Sydney.

“The housing market hasslowed. We’ve seen the budgetforecast for dwelling investment,which had been growing at about5.5 per cent per annum on averageover the last five years, forecast tobe down 7 per cent in 2019-20, thenanother 4 per cent the year after.”

His comments came as theAustralian Bureau of Statisticssaid construction work done overthe March quarter fell 1.9 per cent— a slide that was led by fallingrates of home building and engin-eering work.

“There was confirmation thatthe home building sector is in asharp downturn, after workpeaked in mid-2018,” Westpac

‘It’s not the time for higher taxes; it’s the time for a pro-growth strategy

JOSH FRYDENBERGTREASURER

One Senate seat marks gloomy Labor outlook in battleground state

Labor is on track to secure a soleSenate seat in Queensland, deliv-ering a major blow to the party andits worst upper-house result in thekey battleground state since 1949.

A failure to win two upper-house seats in the Sunshine Statewould reflect Labor’s poor show-ing in the House of Representa-tives, where the party is predictedto win just six of 30 Queenslandelectorates — a net loss of two.

Labor MPs said the same issuesin lower-house seats in the state —equivocation over the Adani coal-mine and an ambitious policyagenda that included contentiouschanges to negative gearing anddividend imputation credits —were at play in the Senate.

The Coalition meanwhile is ontrack to pick up three Senate seatsin every state and in a best-casescenario could control 35 votes inthe upper house, meaning it wouldneed the support of just four cross-benchers to pass legislation. Thiswould significantly bolster ScottMorrison’s power in the Senate.

Labor has won two seats inevery half-Senate election inQueensland since Australiaadopted proportional represent-ation in 1949.

Centre Alliance senators StirlingGriff and Rex Patrick, formerTasmanian senator Jacqui Lambieand the Australian Conservatives’Cory Bernardi. The Turnbull gov-ernment introduced controversialSenate voting reforms before the2016 double-dissolution electionthat abolished group votingtickets, making it harder for inde-pendent candidates to get electedon the back of preferences.

All seats are due to be declaredon or before June 28, with Senateseats to be finalised after those inthe House of Representatives.

Labor traditionally wins at leasttwo Senate seats in each state butin 2013 it picked up only one inSouth Australia and in WesternAustralia because of competitionfrom the Nick Xenophon Teamand Palmer United Party.

ROSIE LEWIS

THE SENATE

Coalition

Labor

Greens

Centre Alliance

One Nation

Aust Conservatives

Lambie

TOTAL

35

26

9

2

2

1

1

76

Likely outcomeCoalition on course to buffer its electoral clout

As of late yesterday, the LiberalNational Party was expected topick up three seats, while Labor,the Greens and One Nation wereon track to win one each.

Nita Green is No 1 on Labor’sQueensland Senate ticket whileincumbent senator Chris Ketter,

first elected in 2013, is No 2 andwould miss out.

“We’re definitely concerned.The new voting system makes it abit harder to predict. (Mr Ketter)may fall short,” Labor sources said.“It’ll be a couple of weeks until weknow (the final Senate results).”

In the 45th parliament theCoalition had 30 senators and hadto wrangle a crossbench that atone stage grew to 12 independents.

If Nationals candidate PerinDavey, No 3 on the Coalition’sNSW Senate ticket, is elected, itwould be the first time the party

had six female MPs in federalparliament. Nationals sourceswere “feeling good but not certain”about Ms Davey’s chances.

The new crossbench is likely toinclude One Nation leader Paul-ine Hanson and fellow Queens-land colleague Malcolm Roberts,

The Liberal Party has high hopes of sneaking over the line in the western Sydney seat of Macquarie, which would take its tally in the House of Representatives to 78, after it had a 196-vote lead last night following postal and absentee vote counting.

One senior Liberal source said that, barring “1000 votes being found in the wrong pile” in a recount, the party looked like snaring the seat by anything up to 400 votes, given the trend being shown in postal and absentee votes.

So far, postal votes have goneLiberal candidate Susan Richards’s way, splitting roughly57 per cent to 43 per cent,

according to Liberal scrutineers.Absentee votes have gone the

Liberals’ way, 52 to 48 per cent, and with about 2000 more absentee votes to be counted, they would have to be trending the other way for Labor’s Susan

Templeman to keep the seat. The Liberal Party led the seat last night with 50.11 per cent of the vote to 49.89 and a recount appeared certain.

Since neighbouring Lindsaywas created in 1984, Labor has held Macquarie only when it also held Lindsay, which it lost this election.

Although the Blue Mountains part of the electorate tends to go Labor’s way, the Hawkesbury area is more conservative.

If Labor lost Macquarie, twoof the three western Sydney seats won thanks to the “Mediscare” campaign run by the Labor Party against Malcolm Turnbull in 2016 would return to the government.

A third seat, Macarthur, remains in Labor hands.

Scott Morrison was seen as abetter bet in western Sydney for the “Howard battlers” than Malcolm Turnbull, and this proved the case on Saturday.

As counting continued yesterday in other seats in doubt, it appeared that Labor’s Anika Wells had won Wayne Swan’s former seat of Lilley, leading by 0.6 per cent or 1002 votes.

The Liberals looked likely tonarrowly win Bass in northern Tasmania, with candidate Bridget Archer ahead by 0.38 per cent or 504 votes.

Cowan in Perth has become atighter contest but Labor incumbent Anne Aly is ahead by 0.5 per cent of the vote, or 757 votes.

Concerns that One Nation could finish ahead of the Nationals and cause Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon some problems in the seat of Hunter appeared to have dissipated last night, with Mr Fitzgibbon ahead by 2.65 per cent.

The national two-party-preferred vote for the Coalition last night was at 51.2 per cent to Labor’s 48.8 per cent.

ANDREW CLENNELL

HOUSE OF REPS

CoalitionLaborGreensKAPCentre AllianceIndependentsTOTAL

78671113151

Likely outcome

SEATS IN DOUBTMACQUARIE, NSWLiberal 196 ahead with87.55% countedBASS, Tasmania Liberal 504 ahead with 89.1% counted

UPPER HOUSE

LOWER HOUSE

economist Andrew Hanlan said.“This follows a strong and ex-

tended upswing over recent yearswhich saw supply largely catch upwith demand.”

Westpac’s leading index, whichindicates the likely pace of econ-omic growth into the near term,also fell further over the pastmonth, driven by further declinesin approvals for dwelling construc-tion. The result was “a clear signalthat economic growth through thethree quarters of 2019 is likely to bebelow trend”, Westpac chief econ-omist Bill Evans said.

Meanwhile, official data re-vealed the weakest rate of growthin skilled jobs vacancies in fiveyears as the Department of Jobsand Small Business figures fell totheir lowest point in two years.

Mr Frydenberg said the “im-pact of a slowdown in the housingmarket is also being felt, so it’s notthe time for higher taxes; it’s thetime for a pro-growth strategy”.

Dr Lowe this week urgedCanberra to drive reforms to taxpolicy, infrastructure spendingand the education sectors to helpsupport longer term economicgrowth.

Mr Frydenberg cited his plan-ned tax cuts for lower and middleincome earners, which is due toprovide relief for households overcoming months, the Coalition’s$100 billion infrastructure spend-ing plans and its support forapprenticeships as key reforms tobe launched by the government.

“Tax is really important, so wehave not just immediate relief butwe also have a long-term struc-tural change,” he said.

He noted the Coalition govern-ment’s plan to remove some in-come tax brackets and addressbracket creep.

Citi economist Josh Williamssaid the disappointing construc-tion figures meant annual GDPgrowth would likely slow even fur-ther to 1.7 per cent, down from analready sub-par 2.3 per cent.

“The leading indicators of em-ployment growth such as job ad-vertisements and vacancies areweakening,” CommSec chiefeconomist Craig James said.

“With … unemployment rates‘stuck’ at around 6 per cent in Tas-mania, Queensland, WesternAustralia and South Australia, theReserve Bank appears likely topull the interest rate lever at itsJune 4 meeting,” Mr James said.

BUSINESS P17

‘It’s time to fuel our engines of growth’

JOHN FEDER

OH Property Group principal buyers agent Henny Stier, at a house she sold in Sydney’s Roseville, is confident of a housing market resurgence

Agents’ phones now ‘ringing like crazy’are saying their phones have beenringing like crazy since Monday,”Ms Stier said.

“Most inner-city housing mar-kets seem to be holding up. We’rehearing people saying: ‘Now we’regoing to start to list our properties.’We can start to see the level ofsupply increase again. That bringsthe buyers out of the woodwork.”

Analysts are expecting thenation’s housing markets to bereignited after Reserve Bankgovernor Philip Lowe indicatedthis week that two rate cuts wouldbe needed to stop unemploymentrising and get inflation back up toits target band, hinting the cash

rate would be dropped to a newrecord low on June 4.

Property enthusiasts are alsobuoyed after the unexpectedCoalition re-election, which endedthe threat of Labor’s negativegearing and capital gains taxreforms, and after the bankingregulator eased onerous restric-tions on borrowers securing loansin a bid to reduce the squeeze onhome buyers. This will allowborrowers to add about $60,000more to a home loan of $1 millionwithout any change in income.

Daniel Yu, a senior analyst atglobal ratings agency Moody’s,said yesterday the Australian

Prudential Regulation Authority’smove would “help support creditgrowth and could stem fallinghouse prices”.

“Improving access to credit willsupport credit growth for thebanks, which has declined signifi-cantly from its peak in 2014, and inturn stem the fall in house prices.Falling house prices are dampen-ing household consumption andcontributing to a weaker growthoutlook for Australia,” Mr Yu said.

Listed residential developerStockland emerged yesterday asone of the biggest winners fromthe re-election of the Morrisongovernment and a relaxation of

prudential lending rules. Thegroup’s stock price has jumped inthe last two trading days.

Ms Stier said the propertymarket had been hit by a slow-down in listings because sellerswere wary of dumping their houseinto a soft property market.

“Some markets have heldbetter than others, such as suburbsclose to the city or within 20km ofthe CBD. Prices there have held upfairly well,” Ms Stier said.

“The problem has been a lack ofsupply. Since Easter I’ve noticed ahuge surge in inspection numbersat what we call the entry pricepoint of about $1m.”

ECONOMY

PROPERTY

Australia’s first indigenous minis-ter Ken Wyatt is likely to makehistory a second time if his requestto become indigenous affairs min-ister is granted by Scott Morrison.

Mr Wyatt confirmed to TheAustralian he had told the PrimeMinister before the federal elec-tion that, if the Coalition won, hewould like to take on the portfoliovacated by retiring indigenousaffairs minister Nigel Scullion.

It would mean that Mr Wyatt, aNyoongar man born in a formermission for Stolen Generationschildren, would become thenation’s first Aboriginal ministerto hold the portfolio of his people

and the first to take a seat in theCoalition’s inner cabinet.

It is not the first time Mr Wyatthas expressed interest in the port-folio. In an interview in 2016 afterhe became the first indigenousfederal frontbencher and assistantminister for health, he told TheAustralian: “If down the track thatopportunity were offered to me, I’dtake it.”

Last week, Mr Wyatt was givenstrong endorsement for his minis-terial skills by his friend JohnHoward, who campaigned withhim in Mr Wyatt’s outer-Perthelectorate of Hasluck. Mr Howardurged shoppers to vote Mr Wyattback for a fourth time since hetook Hasluck from Labor in 2010.

“Look out for him, he’s a goodman,” the elder statesman said.

Mr Wyatt, who is currently

communities was a major concern,but he had also been told by a com-munity-controlled health organis-ation in Hasluck that it had dealtwith seven suicides.

Since winning Hasluck with analmost 3.5 per cent swing, MrWyatt’s first public commentshave been to endorse the “twin-ning” of European names of citiesand locations with traditionalAboriginal names.

He was responding to a pro-posal by Fremantle Mayor BradPettitt to add the Nyoongar name“Walyalup” to the port city’s nameas part of its reconciliation plan.

“I would welcome any localgovernment across this nationdoing what Fremantle is propos-ing,” Mr Wyatt said.

“The dual naming and the rec-ognition of traditional Aboriginal

names that prevailed before settle-ment is a great way for our wholestate to move.”

He said New Zealand was agood model to follow in the way itincorporated Maori language intoeveryday life.

But he said he also observed inAustralia “a growing pride in hav-ing the duality and the recognitionof one of the oldest living culturesand the retention of their languagenames to locations”.

A former parliamentary chairof the committee on constitutionalrecognition, Mr Wyatt has sup-ported some form of recognition ofAboriginal and Torres Strait peo-ples within the Constitution andlast week praised the late formerLabor prime minister Bob Hawkefor his outstanding support of indi-genous people.

VICTORIA LAURIE

MARIE NIRME

Hasluck MP Ken Wyatt is gunning for indigenous affairs

Portfolio pitch sees Wyatt eager to reach another first nations milestone

Aged Care and Indigenous HealthMinister, has declined to elaboratefurther on his portfolio preference,saying it was up to the Prime Min-ister. It is understood he has sup-port from several senior ministersfor the indigenous affairs portfolio,but faces a possible rival in AlanTudge, the Minister for Cities andUrban Infrastructure.

He said indigenous suicide inWestern Australia’s Kimberley

‘The recognition oftraditional Aboriginal names is a great way to move’

KEN WYATTAGED CARE MINISTER

INDIGENOUS

Nationals MPs will thrash-outtheir demands for a new Coalitionagreement at a partyroom meet-ing in Canberra today, with someurging the government tostrengthen its efforts to under-write a new coal-fired power plantin Queensland.

There will be no push to throwopen the leadership, with MichaelMcCormack set to remain asNationals leader after the partyperformed strongly at the electionand received large swings inQueensland marginals.

The surprise victory for theCoalition, which was on track lastnight to win up to 78 seats, has de-fused any early push by BarnabyJoyce to regain the leadership.

The former leader will notattend today’s meeting.

Some Nationals MPs privatelyargue that Mr McCormack willneed to show he can muscle-up tothe Liberal Party, with Saturday’svictory seen as a major endorse-ment of Scott Morrison and hispresidential-style campaign.

Victorian Nationals senatorBridget McKenzie is also expectedto stay on as deputy, despite con-cerns about her engagement withthe backbench.

An early test for Mr McCor-mack will be whether the Nation-als negotiate five or four seats atthe cabinet table and if the minorCoalition partner can secure othersenior portfolios amid speculationMPs will push to regain the tradeministry from the Liberals.

On current figures, there will be21 Nationals in the new parlia-ment. This means the Nationalswill comprise about 19 per cent ofthe joint partyroom if 35 Coalitionsenators are elected and the gov-ernment wins a majority of 78 inthe House of Representatives.

Nationals strategists suggestedthis would see the party holdingonly four seats in cabinet, arguingthere was no reason for the PrimeMinister to agree to a fifth.

Mr Morrison has not run as aconservative on energy policy, re-jecting arguments to pull Australiaout of the Paris climate accord. Healso unveiled a shortlist of a dozenenergy projects that the govern-ment would consider underwrit-ing. These were focused on gas andhydro projects in Victoria, NSWand South Australia, and only one“very small” coal upgrade in NSW.

But some Nationals MPs toldThe Australian the large swingsagainst Labor in central Queens-land represented an endorsementof the Coalition’s commitment to afeasibility study into a new high-efficiency low-emission (HELE)coal-fired power plant proposedfor Collinsville.

Michelle Landry, who receivedan 11 per cent swing in the seat ofCapricornia, argued for the gov-ernment to “move” on advancingthe development of cheaper poweroptions.

“I think the swing in Queens-land was certainly about support-ing the coal sector,” she said.“People want something doneabout power prices. Cost of living isstill one of the biggest issues. Ithink we’ve got to move on it.”

Her LNP colleague Keith Pitt,who received a swing of 6 per centin Hinkler, said the election was a“victory for common sense”.

“The Australian people veryclearly endorsed our policies,which were sensible and balancedpositions on climate change andon electricity generation and notforcing people to buy electric cars,”he said.

“It was about jobs. There’s alesson there for the Labor Party,who no longer represent workingpeople.”

JOE KELLY

Backers of coal in call for actionNATIONALS

ROSIE LEWIS

Failed independent candidate andLiberal defector Julia Banks hastaken a parting shot at her formerparty, lashing out at alleged“tribalism and toxic culture” as herpolitical career comes to an end.

A staunch Turnbull loyalist, MsBanks also praised the “authenticand inspiring leadership” of Mal-colm Turnbull and his deputy,Julie Bishop, saying serving underthem was her “greatest honour”.

While congratulating the Lib-eral Party in a statement yester-day, which effectively concededdefeat in the seat of Flinders, shehit out at the “right-wing con-servative faction”. Ms Banks, elec-ted to Chisholm in 2016, quit theLiberals and sat on the crossbenchafter Mr Turnbull lost the primeministership, blaming bullying, in-timidation and leadership turmoil.

“My hope is that the right-wingconservative faction don’t con-tinue to drown out addressing cli-mate change emergency nor theAustralian ethos of equality for alland humanitarian spirit,” she said.

“Sadly, the tribalism and toxicculture (in the Liberal Party) con-tinued. The reprisals and retri-bution, whispering campaigns,personal attacks and name-calling, social media rants, mess-ages and emails from the puerile tothe offensive, and defamatory alle-gations and lies were unrelenting.

“To those in the Liberal Partyincluding some current and for-mer members of parliament whoengaged in this behaviour, I saythis: You don’t own me — younever did. And I don’t ‘owe a debtto you’. It’s a free country for peo-ple to run for office and advocatefor what they believe in. To thehaters generally whose disturbingbehaviour adds to the toxic politi-cal culture, I say this: Stop.”

At noon yesterday, Ms Bankshad 14.43 per cent of the primaryvote (11,920 votes) compared with46.63 per cent (38,518 votes) forLiberal Greg Hunt.

Defeated Banks fires last angry shot at LibsDEFECTOR

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