From a new RBA FOI comes the end of Turnbott lies:
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann last night denied the RBA FOI undermines the Turnbull Government’s legitimacy on the issue:
LEIGH SALES: Alright. Let me come to you, Senator Cormann – we’re about to run out of time – just on a different issue. A Reserve Bank document released under Freedom of Information laws this afternoon contradicts the Prime Minister’s claim that Labor’s negative gearing changes will smash the property market. The memo says the only issue would be if the changes were not grandfathered, which they are, so therefore does that resolve any of your concerns about Labor’s negative gearing policy?
MATHIAS CORMANN: It doesn’t say any such thing. It’s an entirely unremarkable internal document.
PENNY WONG: Yes, it does. Come on, Mathias. You’re the Finance Minister.
MATHIAS CORMANN: Incidentally, not the – not an official document of the Reserve Bank. Penny, I mean, honestly?
PENNY WONG: Well, I mean, really. It does say that.
MATHIAS CORMANN: Like, so – I’m answering – I’m answering Leigh’s question.
LEIGH SALES: Sorry, Senator Cormann, please finish.
PENNY WONG: Sure.
MATHIAS CORMANN: Thank you very much. It doesn’t say any such thing. It is an internal briefing note about how negative gearing operates. It outlines a series of historical perspectives. It precedes the release of Labor’s policy. It doesn’t address Labor’s policy at all. Labor’s policy on negative …
LEIGH SALES: But it says any change which discourages negative gearing may be a good thing from a financial stability perspective.
MATHIAS CORMANN: “May be” and it – obviously, if you look at the most recent official statement from the Reserve Bank Governor, you will see that one of the reasons why he felt comfortable to reduce the official cash rate in his most recent update is because of developments in the property market and because of the effect that tougher lending standards from APRA have had on the housing market. I mean, this is an old document, it’s an internal document, it is a document that outlines historical perspectives. It’s not an official position of the RBA and it shouldn’t be misrepresented that way.
LEIGH SALES: OK. Unfortunately, we are out of time. Many more issues to discuss of course and hopefully we’ll see you again during the course of the campaign. Senator Cormann, Senator Wong, thank you very much.
PENNY WONG: Thank you.
You can’t make this stuff up.
