The Federal government recently changed visa requirements so that some people who have never been to Australia are now able to buy even "used" homes here. A large number of Melbourne's best homes (up to around fifty percent) in our best suburbs are now being bought and sold by people who have never even been to Australia. According to agents, many of these buyers are not interested in renting these houses out but leave them empty in the hope of making capital gains.
Peter Kavanagh, DLP member for Western Victoria, has described this situation as "outrageous". "In fact this policy, by which high quality housing is being taken out of the rental market, is contributing to both higher rents and higher prices for houses. Higher rents and house prices throughout Victoria is extremely undesirable. Government policies should be aimed at making housing more affordable - not pricing locals out of home ownership", Mr Kavanagh said.
"The DLP has no objection to immigrants from Asia coming to Australia and buying homes to live in. Indeed, the DLP was the first Australian political party to oppose the White Australia Policy. We are very pro-immigrant but we strongly oppose the idea that we should allow speculation in our homes by people who may never even have been here at the expense of local home buyers and renters" Mr Kavanagh said.
Mr Kavanagh raised this issue in Parliament, the text of his comments follow.
(Victorian Parliamentary Debates 23 February 2010, Peter Kavanagh DLP Member for Western Victoria)
".... last month it was revealed that because of changes made by the federal cabinet to visa requirements 40 per cent of the best houses in the best suburbs of Melbourne are now being bought by non-residents, in many cases people who have never even been to Melbourne.
The agents, who do not have a very strong interest in opposing this -- quite the opposite -- tell us that a lot of these people, who are often officials of the Chinese Communist Party, cannot be bothered renting out the properties for what to them is a rather paltry amount of money and they leave the houses locked up, empty, for years on end in the hope of getting a big capital gain at the end. It is absolutely outrageous in my opinion that people who have never even been to Australia are speculating on our homes at the expense of Australian families. I believe that should be changed."
Peter Kavanagh MLC Member for Western Victoria DLP (Democratic Labor Party) Electorate Office: Level 2 1 Yarra St Geelong Vic 3220 Phone: (03) 5222 1503 Fax: (03) 5221 8677
