Chalmers can't avoid questions on house prices, Marles learns from melon saga

Welcome back to your weekly federal politics update, where Courtney Gould gets you up to speed on the happenings from Parliament House.

Jim Chalmers sits alone in a darkened press conference room, selfie camera on, chatting to his social media followers about the latest economic data.

But of course he wasn't asked any questions in his pre-filmed video. It was more an avenue for him to declare the economy was "robust" despite challenges from the Middle East war, point out more people are switching to EVs and that housing construction is up before he had to face reporters half an hour later.

He fronted up to the press conference for a tense back and forth where almost every single question was house prices.

When the government made the U-turn on its promise not to wind back negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, it did so armed with Treasury forecasts. Growth, the budget papers said, would slow by 2 per cent over a number of years.

Property data firm Cotality this week flagged drops in every capital city in August, and predictions from the Commonwealth Bank that prices could drop as much as 13 per cent have some mortgage holders understandably worried.

Chalmers has largely brushed off movements in price as not unusual and backed in his department's forecast. "Buying a house is a long-term proposition," he said.

The major factor at play here is recent interest rate rises, he argued, not the government's tax changes.

That argument wasn't made easier for him either, after fellow frontbencher Matt Thistlethwaite declared on News24 (formerly Sky News Australia) there was "no doubt" the tax changes contributed to house prices falling.

"I think that's one of a number of reasons," Chalmers told ABC's Sally Sara when asked again this morning.

Opting out of algorithms?

Thistlethwaite may have made the sell a little bit harder for Chalmers, but the treasurer named the "disturbing rubbish" pushed by social media algorithms as the thing making his job more difficult.

"Our society, our social cohesion, the way that we come at big problems including in my part of the shop in the economy is hampered, not helped, by the way algorithms are dominating people's day," Chalmers said.

It's a similar argument that's been put before by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has said algorithms are fuelling polarisation. Albanese is supportive of the idea that Australians should have more control over what they are shown online.

But that doesn't go as far as what consent advocate Chanel Contos has put forward: an opt-in algorithm for social media accounts. If adopted, it would be a world where we'd return to chronological feeds where our friends' content is shown instead of strangers. It's an idea backed by some of the crossbench and the Greens amid concerns social media is exposing young people to misogynistic content.

There seems to be no disagreement among the leaders of the major political parties that some of the content fed to people is toxic. But for some it's a bit of a chicken and egg argument.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan, for example, this week argued it is the "feminisation" of the school curriculum and a lack of male teachers that pushes boys towards such content. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor also accused teachers of running agendas in the classroom.

Contos argued the algorithm is the missing piece here — young boys are being shown this content whether they seek it out or not.

Coalition focuses on tobacco

Meanwhile, the Coalition finally released its plan to slash the tobacco excise. The plan also included a proposal to legalise and tax vapes and nicotine pouches.

An estimated 80 per cent of the cigarettes and other nicotine products consumed in Australia last year were illegal, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Last month, One Nation revealed its own plan to slash the excise by 75 per cent. The opposition went one further, revealing a proposal to cut the excise by 80 per cent. It argues it would be enough to tip the scales and redirect customers towards legal tobacco.

The Parliamentary Budget Office costed the policy but the Coalition has not released the costings or the assumptions underpinning them.

It says its plan, paired with a further $200 million spend on law enforcement to support more raids, arrests and closure of illegal tobacco shops, would increase tax revenue by about $8 billion over the first four years — double the current forecasts.

That hinges on the idea that cutting the price would encourage Australians to ditch the black market and that illegal distributers wouldn't also drop prices to compete — something Taylor disagrees with.

Back in the Pacific

While this was all going down at home, Albanese returned to palm tree-lined beaches and crystal clear blue water of Palau for the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

It's not the first time the prime minister has visited — he made the trip to the small Pacific nation last year for a pre-wedding holiday with now wife Jodie Haydon.

The early stages of the meeting were overshadowed by tensions between China and Taiwan about Taipei's increased presence at the gathering (Palau has diplomatic ties with Taiwan) and the number of leaders who decided to skip the annual forum.

Albanese said he wasn't distracted by all that as he pressed on with discussions about climate change and tackling the issue of drug trafficking in the Pacific, where Australia and New Zealand's appetite for illegal drugs has caused real issues.

Leaders were also due to discuss the matter of China's test-fire of a nuclear-capable missile carrying a dummy warhead in the Pacific — with host nation Palau indicating it would like to issue a united statement about the test.

Despite escaping PIF without another T-shirt faux pas, it wasn't all smooth sailing for Albanese, who had a tense press conference of his own at the forum about United Nations climate event being held in Fiji and Tuvalu next month.

The pre-COP events are organised by Australia and are part of the compromise Australia struck with Türkiye last year after we bowed out of hosting the climate conference in Adelaide.

But so far just five leaders from outside of the Pacific have confirmed they're making the trip, which was designed to highlight the impact of climate change on Pacific nations. It's not typical that leaders usually attend a pre-COP event.

Asked about this, Albanese said the focus on the non-Pacific leaders was "disrespectful".

LoadingTreaty yourself

And finally, have you been looking for the perfect gift for the Kiwi in your family? Or perhaps you have a long-distance American pen pal you need a stocking stuffer for?

Don't worry, Defence Minister Richard Marles has you covered for inspiration. He presented a framed copy of the full text of the ANZUS Treaty on vellum, and signed by Albanese, to a member of the Trump administration.

Vellum is a thin, translucent material made of calfskin and commonly used by artists.

Why are we presenting Albanese autographed military treaties to our allies? To mark the 75th anniversary. You can't get that at the shops.