Albo's housing minister is accused of 'gaslighting' Aussies after dismissing fears of 30 per cent rent rise - as Nat Barr asks: 'How much will it be?'

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 01:37, 19 August 2026 | Updated: 01:37, 19 August 2026 Anthony Albanese's housing minister has been accused of 'gaslighting' Australians after dismissing fears of a huge rental surge in a tense live TV interview. Sunrise host Nat Barr pressed Clare O'Neil to reveal how much she expected rents to rise for tenants during the Wednesday morning interview.  Her question came a day after comments made by NAB's Head of Australian Economics Gareth Spence sparked concern it could be as much as 30 per cent. He wrote in a note to clients the Albanese government's capital gains and negative gearing reforms could force landlords to increase rental yields 'to compensate for the loss of tax benefits'. NAB was forced to later clarify it was not a prediction, but 'one possible scenario which assumed that the adjustment in gross rental yields took place in an environment of unchanged dwelling prices'. Property analytics company SQM Research's Louis Christopher echoed fears of a sharp increase to rent, saying it could be between 15 and 30 per cent, while real estate agency Ray White also joined the chorus. The prediction is substantially more than official estimates, with the Treasury claiming the May Budget would only lead to a $2-a-week rental increase.  O'Neil stood by the Budget estimates, prompting a fiery response from fellow guest Liberal senator Michaelia Cash, who accused her of 'gaslighting'. Housing Minister Clare O'Neil clashed with Sunrise host Nat Barr and Liberal senator Michaelia Cash in a fiery interview on Wednesday 'Stop gaslighting Australians, stop gaslighting the mum and dads feeling the impact of your toxic housing taxes, but more than that, stop gaslighting renters,' she said. 'It does not matter what Clare says. She can defend her policies, but the evidence on the ground and from the experts is that Labor's toxic housing taxes are smashing the market. 'They are not just forcing new home buyers into negative equity, they are now directly forcing up rent.' O'Neil argued the Albanese government's tax reforms would have minor ramifications for renters. 'I just take you back to the Treasury analysis, which shows that because of the way we have undertaken this change, the impact on rents will be very small,' she said. Barr hit back: 'Let's take the Budget out of it because it's only going to increase rents by $2, which you said, but what about other factors which we're living in? 'We're living in interest rates going up possibly. We're living in a cost-of-living crisis. 'Let's take it all because this is people's lives. How much are rents going to go up?' Sunrise host Nat Barr demanded Clare O'Neil to reveal how much she anticipated rents to rise for tenants on Wednesday morning Is it fair for renters to bear the brunt of new housing policies, or should investors take the hit? What's your view?O'Neil conceded that renting in Australia is not the experience that it should be.  'Renters are dealing with the brunt of 40 years of Australian governments not doing enough and that is why we're approaching this problem from every possible angle,' she said. 'Your viewers at home are well versed on the tax changes to make our housing market fairer that the government put in place.  'That is just part of this massive agenda that we have. It's about building more homes, because the fundamental problem facing renters is actually that we don't have enough rental supply.' O'Neil pressed on with her policy spiel when Barr asked if rents will go up by 30 per cent.  'We've lifted rental standards for every single renter around the country, and we're getting more Australians into home ownership,' she continued. 'But we've got a lot more work to do here, and we're really committed to that.' Barr again asked O'Neil if rents will go up by almost a third, prompting the minister to plead for a 'calm and fact-based conversation'. The minister hit back at predictions that rents could soar by almost 30 per cent after the Albanese government overhauled the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing 'There are renters at the other end who are in a financially precarious situation, and I'd ask them to listen to the facts and to listen to rental advocates who only have their interests at heart,' O'Neil said. Barr pointed out that figures from the June quarter showed there are almost as many new investor loans coming from the banks as there were last year. 'They've got to recoup their money somehow and if they can't negatively gear, they're not going to get their yield,' she said. 'So Clare, the question is, are they going to have to hike their rents to recoup their money?' The minister replied: 'I take you back to the Treasury analysis, which shows that because of the way we have undertaken this change, the impact on rents will be very small.'