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Labor’s Peter Khalil and the Greens’ Samantha Ratnam appeared on ABC Radio Melbourne this morning for an interview with Raf Epstein that put the spotlight on the crucial Victorian seat of Wills.
First up, Epstein asked his two guests for their coffee order. Khalil’s was uncontroversial: latte with no sugar. Ratnam, however, caused a little bit of a stir with her preference for a caramel skinny latte. “It’s out there now, embarrassing, but, you know, delicious,” she said in her defence.
Who knows how that plays out in the hipster territory of Brunswick and Fitzroy North in Melbourne’s inner north?
Labor’s Peter Khalil and the Greens’ Samantha Ratnam went head to head on ABC Radio Melbourne on Tuesday morning.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
On to more pressing matters, the candidates were asked about housing, an issue that is dominating the campaign.
Khalil said Labor was investing $33 billion in housing through programs such as the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Help to Buy shared equity scheme, and a plan to build 1.2 million homes.
“The practical reality is you’ve got to get supply into the market to actually alleviate pressure on renters,” he said.
Ratnam said the Greens’ negotiations with Labor on its housing policies had forced the government to secure an extra $3 billion for public and community housing. Ratnam said the Greens also wanted to freeze rent increases.
Follow the action in Wills, as well as Goldstein, Kooyong and Bruce in our Victorian hot seats blog.