Anthony Albanese cops a serve as business owner who won charity tennis match with the Prime Minister hits out at his office

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 10:34, 16 July 2026 | Updated: 10:38, 16 July 2026 Mortgage broker Joseph Daoud says he has yet to hear from organisers about the charity tennis match he won against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, after paying $16,500 at the Midwinter Ball Charity auction on July 1. The Sydney businessman, who has built a public profile campaigning against Labor's Budget changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, is now asking when he will be contacted. Daoud has become a prominent critic of the government's move to limit negative gearing to new builds and impose a 30 per cent minimum tax on capital gains. The move was designed to help first-home buyers gain a foothold in the real estate market, but many have complained it is at the expense of existing homeowners, business owners and investors, for whom property has dropped in value. Daoud rose to national attention after personally spending $17,500 on billboard ads urging Labor to ditch what he calls 'ambition taxes', following the budget being handed down in May.  'It has now been 11 business days since I won the auction to face the Prime Minister in a game of tennis, yet I still haven't been contacted to book our match,' he wrote on Tuesday. The radio silence from the Prime Minister's Office, Daoud said, has left him wondering what is happening behind the scenes. 'It really had me thinking, why haven't they booked me in? Does he really think he's helping first home buyers? Are they doing background searches? Are they trying to find out if I'm mean?' Joseph Daoud (left) hit back at Anthony Albanese's comments made about him in Parliament Daoud then addressed the Prime Minister directly. 'Anthony, I thought I'd provide you a summary of who I am here,' he said. 'I'm just a man who has spent his whole professional career educating and assisting first home buyers, despite everything thrown at me. 'So can you please get in touch?' Daily Mail understands the process of organising the match has not even yet formally begun. Sources familiar with the matter said Midwinter Ball organisers are responsible for connecting the auction winner with the Prime Minister's Office, and that step is yet to be completed. Daoud secured the tennis match hoping for a chance to directly challenge Albanese on housing affordability and tax policy. The Prime Minister responded to the pending match in Question Time on July 2, after the Coalition raised Daoud's name in Parliament. Albanese (pictured) said that Daoud was 'a mate' of the Coalition during a fiery Question Time  'When it comes to this gentleman, I don't know who he is,' Albanese said. Albanese went on to describe Daoud as a 'mate' of the Opposition. 'He's obviously a mate, and they think it's very clever to do all this.' Albanese said he welcomed the money raised for charity, but contrasted Daoud with struggling home buyers. '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,' he told Parliament. 'I'm for the people who work hard. I'm for the people who have a right to have the security of a roof over their head.' He ended with a tennis-themed swipe at Opposition Leader Angus Taylor. 'The more they go down this road, the more aces we will serve up,' he said. Daoud bid $16,500 to play a game of tennis with Anthony Albanese (pictured) at the Lodge  Daoud said he was taken aback by the Prime Minister's comments, arguing that they ignored the role mortgage brokers play in helping young Australians buy a home. 'I heard that comment and I said, 'Does he know what mortgage brokers do? We help first home buyers',' Daoud told Daily Mail. 'I've been working with first home buyers longer than he's been Prime Minister.' He said politicians should listen more to those on the front line working with aspiring homeowners. 'As someone who has worked with first home buyers for eight or nine years, if he's for first home buyers, speak with someone who has been working with them for a long period of time,' he said. Daoud also disputed Labor's claims that its tax changes would help make housing more affordable, saying the uncertainty is already deterring potential buyers. 'I am speaking to first home buyers who are more hesitant because they don't want to purchase an asset that's losing value because of this budget,' he said. Auction clearance rates have plunged since the May budget, with Sydney and Melbourne recording their weakest results since the pandemic, both seeing averages of under 50 per cent.