Pauline Hanson's One Nation Wants To Ban Foreigners From Buying Australian Property
Pauline Hanson has taken aim at foreign buyers snapping up Aussie property.
There's no denying some sectors of the Australian property market are unbelievably hot at the moment and this climate is preventing many from getting the keys to their slice of heaven.
One Nation has unveiled an election promise to make sure overseas investors are banned from bidding at auctions.
'Non-residents' and 'non-citizens' would be prevented from buying any property under One Nation's plan, according to the Daily Mail.
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A statement on the political party's website states: "One Nation will pursue urgent reform to Australia’s foreign investment rules by legislating a clear definition of ‘National Interest' based on national security, competition, tax, a character test, and any other impacts to Australia.
"Essential services including power, water, telecommunications, roadways, and ports would be off-limits to foreign investors.
"With a crucial shortage of housing stock in Australia, we must stop the sale of property to non-residents and non-citizens."
This would step up the current legislation around foreign ownership in Australia.
At the moment, non-residents are already banned from being able to bid for properties that have already been built.
However, they are still allowed to snap up new homes as well as vacant land.
The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) does allow exceptions to that rule.
Canstar reports: "The FIRB is likely to approve an application where the foreign investor plans on redeveloping a property.
"But, the approval is subject to the fact that it needs to 'genuinely increase Australia’s housing stock'.
"For example, a foreign investor may be able to redevelop an existing house if they knock it down and replace it with two townhouses. This way, the job creation aspect is still applicable."
But One Nation's policy appears to take this situation one step further by outright banning them from owning any sort of property.
This would allow Australian residents and citizens the chance to buy new builds or land and transform it into the way they see fit without competing against wealthy overseas investors.
Interestingly, Canada recently announced a similar move.
The country's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland wrote in the federal budget that 'buying a house is out of reach for far too many Canadians' and the government is prepared to do 'everything' it can 'to make the market fairer'.
The country will be bringing in a two-year ban on foreign home investment to see if that affects the market.
Canada also intends to bolster the first homebuyers scheme to help young Canadians purchase their first home.
The government is doubling the grant to $10,000, providing up to $1,500 in direct support and it applies to any home purchased after January 1 2022.
The budget aims to make housing more affordable to Canadian residents, as offshore money has flowed into Canada over the last 30 years, resulting in skyrocketing housing prices.
The average price of a home rocketed past $800,000 in February this year, according to CBC, meaning many people have struggled to onto the property ladder.
Topics: Australia
Stewart Perrie