A public housing tenant living where Anthony Albanese once called home has lashed out at the prime minister for returning his attention to his roots.
Anya Yakubova, 27, and her mother Rosa are so proud to live in the same housing estate in Camperdown town center where the Prime Minister was raised by his mother that they have a framed photo of him in the front room.
But she was disappointed to learn this week that her ‘houso hero’ has added a lavish $4.3 million clifftop mansion on the NSW central coast to his property portfolio while failing to deliver on his promise for better social housing to make it come true.
Ms Yakubova has seen many people in similar situations to her become homeless, including her brother, who currently lives on the streets, making the timing of property purchases “harder to hear.”
She also thinks it is ‘inappropriate’ now that federal elections are approaching.
“(Albanians) should help the homeless and helpless people more instead of buying a nice house,” Ms. Yakubova told Seven news.
‘I want him to do more for people who live in the housing committee.
“The cost of living is rising so much that it is almost impossible for families to live in Sydney at the moment.
Anya Yakubova (pictured) lives in Camperdown Housing Committee, inner-city Sydney, where Anthony Albanese grew up
The woman who lived in the old home of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s housing committee (pictured) urged him to refocus his efforts on improving social housing
“I think it’s kind of unfair that the cost of living has gone up so much and it’s so hard for everyone to live … and he’s buying a multi-million dollar house before the election.”
Despite joining the barrage of resistance against Mr Albanese, she is proud to live in his family home.
It is the first time that television cameras have been in the unit.
“It makes me feel like I can do anything, that I can achieve anything,” Ms. Yakubova said.
“I feel some kind of, I don’t know, aura about this house that makes me want to do better. Do more.
‘It feels like a celebrity lived here. It’s iconic.’
She added that she does not begrudge Mr. Albanese for his impressive real estate portfolio.
“Good for him for striving to get what he wants,” he said.
“But I don’t think it’s appropriate right now. It’s quite disappointing.’
Mr Albanese (pictured with his mother) grew up in public housing and now has an impressive real estate portfolio
Albanese declined to comment on his controversial purchase on Wednesday.
“What I’m focused on is delivering more homes to Australians,” he told reporters.
Mr Albanese’s new cliff-top home in Copacabana sits on a 790 m² plot of land and is a short walk from the beach.
Mr Albanese will share his home with his fiancée Jodie Haydon, whose family also live in the area, 2GB’s Ben Fordham reported.
“I’m about to marry Jodie and start a new chapter in our lives,” the Prime Minister told Fordham.
“Jodie is a Coastie and spending time with her up there is great. It will be nice to be closer to her parents and her family one day.”
The home also features a double garage and cathedral-style ceilings.
After growing up in public housing, Mr. Albanese now has an impressive real estate portfolio.
The Prime Minister recently listed his three-bedroom mansion in Dulwich Hill with a guide of $1.9 million.
The house was due to go under the hammer on October 12 after being bought by the Prime Minister in 2015 for $1.175 million.
Mr Albanese had evicted his long-term tenant from the property to put it on the market.
But estate agent Shad Hassan of Agency Inner West revealed this week that, with no ‘firm commitment’ from an interested buyer, they decided to put an asking price on the house instead.
Mr Albanese (pictured with fiancée Jodie Haydon) recently bought a seaside mansion worth $4.3 million
Mr Albanese’s new clifftop home (pictured) in Copacabana, on the New South Wales central coast, is set on 790m² of land and a short walk from the beach
Mr Albanese will share the house (pictured) with his fiancée Jodie Haydon, whose family live nearby
“Albo and I decided it was best not to waste our time, it’s well worth the money and we’ll have people come and see it this weekend when we put an asking price on it,” he told realestate.com.
Mr Albanese also owns a mortgage-free federation bungalow in Marrickville, while living for free between Kirribilli House and The Lodge in Canberra.
That house in Marrickville earns him between $1,300 and $1,400 in rent every week.
He also earns $564,356 a year as prime minister.