Labor treasury spokesman Chris Bowen has told the Sky News, the federal government has been caught out lying.

The federal opposition has accused the government of a "dishonest scare campaign" after treasury advice contradicted the government's claims over Labor's housing policy. The 2016 documents, obtained by the A-B-C under freedom of information laws, suggest Labor's policy to tighten tax breaks for property investors would only have a small impact on house prices. Instead, the Turnbull government claims that changing negative gearing would act like a "sledgehammer" on the Australian economy. Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen says the advice exposes the government's attack on Labor's policies "as little more than outright lies".