Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken a swipe at Opposition Leader Angus Taylor's speech at the Midwinter Ball, which was meant to be off the record but reportedly fell flat. During question time, Albanese responded to Liberal MP Ben Small's query about Joseph Dowd, a businessman who spent over $17,000 on billboards critical of Labor's tax changes and is auctioning a tennis match with the PM for $16,000.
Albanese Mocks Taylor's Speech
Albanese said: "If I was someone on that side, led by this leader of the opposition, I wouldn't be mentioning last night. I would pretend it was all a bad dream! I'm sure you were there, and many were, and we're not supposed to talk about it, in spite of the fact he just came in and asked a question about it!" Taylor retorted: "You're a bad dream mate."
Defending Tax Changes
The PM then addressed Dowd's campaign, saying: "The leader of the opposition mentioned him in his speech, and he's obviously a mate, and they think it's very clever to do all this … But let me make this point as well – if it's a choice between someone who's in the sector somewhere and who's got enough money to buy billboards and spend all this, or first–home buyers struggling to get into a home, I'm for the first–home buyers!"
Albanese concluded: "And let me tell you this – the more they go down this road, the more aces we will serve up." A Labor MP shouted: "Game, set, match!"
