Pauline Hanson has called on the Albanian government to ban foreigners from owning property in Australia.
The One Nation Leader told 2GB host Chris O’Keefe that the amount of housing foreigners are buying is “disgusting.”
Senator Hanson claimed that a low exchange rate and poor government policies had escalated the country’s housing crisis and made it easier for foreigners, particularly from China, to purchase real estate.
“I’ve been calling for this for a long time,” Senator Hanson said.
“It has escalated and the problem is actually worse. Look, the US dollar is about 70 cents to our dollar, even in the UK it’s about 54 cents to the dollar, so they’re getting more bang for their buck.”
Pauline Hanson has called on the Albanian government to ban foreigners from owning property in Australia.
“China is buying so much real estate and housing in Australia and it’s disgusting and it makes me so angry that the politicians aren’t doing anything about it,” Senator Hanson added.
Senator Hanson claimed that Chinese investors lead the foreign investors and spend about $7 million a day on housing in Australia.
She also alleged that foreign investors bought old and established properties despite government policies that only allowed the purchase of new homes.
Foreigners buying property in Australia can only purchase new properties or vacant lots as long as they apply for approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
They can only buy existing property if it undergoes a major renovation that increases the housing stock, such as turning one house into two townhouses.
Senator Hanson urged the government to investigate real estate purchased by foreign investors to ensure it complies with the law.
‘There is no proper research. That’s the problem,” Senator Hanson said.
“But the government wants it because it brings money into the country. The state government doesn’t want to get rid of it because they get the stamp duty on housing.’
The One Nation leader claimed foreign investors are driving up the cost of housing, creating high property prices that are out of reach for many Australians.
“It was the Australian dream to own your house… the young people who come through it won’t know that,” said Senator Hanson.
“It is estimated that we are short of around 600,000 homes across Australia. People live in tents, caravans, in parks, it’s just ridiculous in a country like this.
Stop foreign investment! Don’t allow them to have it… It drives up the cost of housing, puts it out of the reach of young people or anyone who wants to buy their own home.
2GB host Chris O’Keefe (left) asked Senator Hanson if the issue was being blown “out of proportion,” but she argued the housing crisis was serious, claiming Chinese investors were exacerbating the crisis
O’Keefe asked the senator if the issue was being blown ‘out of proportion’, claiming that statistics showed foreign investment accounted for less than 1 percent of Australia’s housing market in 2021 to 2022.
Senator Hanson argued that the problem was serious, citing data from the Foreign Investment Review Board that showed Chinese investors spent $2.3 billion on housing in Australia from January 2022 to March 2023.
“If you look at it that way, we have a housing shortage for Australians. That is it. That’s what matters,” Senator Hanson said.
“Don’t continue to allow foreign investment, you’ve got the Chinese, the Vietnamese, you’ve got Indians, you’ve got other people buying property all over Australia.”
Many social media users agreed with the One Nation leader and suggested that foreign investors should be able to buy real estate if Aussies can also buy a home in their country.
“I have no problem with foreign citizens being able to own property in Australia, but only as long as Australians can own property in their country,” one person wrote.
“If their land won’t allow us to own land there, why should we allow them to own land here?”
Others argued that the idea works in theory, but if implemented would see Australia’s housing market crash.
“If they did, the housing market could potentially collapse. Without overseas buyers, all Aussie homeowners would be full,” one person commented.
“I suppose if you want to crash the real estate market, yes. So does she have a plan to prevent that or is it just another noisy mind bubble,” wrote another.
A third agreed: “Excellent idea in theory, but if implemented the mother of all real estate crashes would happen.”
Hanson argued that foreign investors were responsible for driving house prices up (photo, auction where the opening bid was $400,000 higher than the price guide)
Australians have also urged the government to adopt a similar policy introduced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in January that prohibits foreigners from buying property in Canada.
The bill, called the Prohibition of Home Purchases by Non-Canadians, seeks to quell the country’s housing crisis by banning all outsiders – especially investors – from buying real estate in its 10 provinces.
According to official figures, China was the largest source of investment in Australian residential real estate, with an investment of $2.3 billion between January 2022 and March 2023.
After China, the largest sources of residential investment come from Hong Kong and Vietnam – both at $0.4 billion.
India, where Anthony Albanese is currently trying to attract investment, ranks sixth according to the Foreign Investment Review Board.