Analysis of publicly available registers of interest documents shows members of the Australian cabinet and shadow cabinet are prolific property owners
The treasurer, Joe Hockey, has come under fire for saying that prospective first home owners should get a good job before thinking of entering the property market.
The comments were interpreted by many locked out of the market by high prices as being out of touch with the realities faced by young people and those on low incomes.
Hockey’s comments were staunchly defended by members of the frontbench, including the prime minister, Tony Abbott, and the social services minister, Scott Morrison.
Analysis of publicly available registers of interest documents shows that members of the cabinet and shadow cabinet are prolific property moguls. Most politicians and their spouses own more than one property, and many own multiple properties in their home states as well as real estate in Canberra.
Figures compiled by economists in 2014 showed property ownership in the 2013 parliament was high on all sides of politics.
On average, Liberal MPs in the lower house owned 2.29 properties each, and Labor owned 1.84. There was a total of 563 properties for 226 politicians in the lower house and Senate, worth an estimated $300m at the time. For a rough comparison,the 2011 census showed property ownership nationwide was 0.67.
More recent figures for the cabinet and shadow cabinet show that Coalition politicians and their spouses have, on average, 2.55 properties each. For Labor, the figure is similar at 2.47.
The communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has the highest number of properties in the Coalition cabinet, seven, followed by the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, with five.
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