‘Homeless’ West Australian MP Wilson Tucker actually owns a $830,000 four-bedroom house in Perth suburb
A politician who complained about having to live in his car since being evicted from a rental property has been revealed to own a four-bedroom home worth $831,000.
Independent Western Australia MP Wilson Tucker said last week he was forced into homelessness after receiving an unfounded eviction notice in late April.
But Mr Tucker did not say he bought a house on an 873 square meter block in Hamersley in Perth’s north last November, which he rents out for about $700 a week.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia last weekend, Mr Tucker said he has visited many places since receiving his deportation notice but has been unable to find a place to rent.
‘There is certainly a lot of fear and desperation in the market. “We have literally hundreds of people showing up (to view rental properties), competing for a handful of properties… it’s been incredibly frustrating.”
WA MP Wilson Tucker (pictured) complained about having to live in his car since being evicted from a rental property – but it has been revealed he owns a four-bedroom house worth $831,000
Because he represents the Kununurra mining and pastoral region in WA’s House of Lords, Mr Tucker has “decided to basically pack up and live out of my car in the north” during the weeks when Parliament is not in session.
He said he will stay in hotels when he has to be in Perth, and spend the rest of the time in his Prado and in a tent as he tours his electorate, which covers 2,205,281 square kilometers.
“There are days when it makes sense if you’re in a more remote location to pitch a tent.” If I’m staying in a regional town like Kununurra, I’ll probably get a motel.”
But Mr Tucker has now admitted he owns a house just 14km north-west of Perth’s CBD, but said tenants lived there when he bought it.
‘I would feel really bad if I made people victims of a market that is currently extremely difficult, and that could mean that they end up on the street.
“I’m more than happy to somewhat respect their wishes in light of my own, as I don’t have that many family members and am a bit nomadic at the moment,” he told the Western Australian.
He added that as he may not stand again in the next WA election, he was viewing the house as an investment property he could move into later.
The revelation did not stop Mr Tucker from criticizing the state government for the way it deals with tenants.
“It is incredibly disappointing that the WA Government has sided with the property sector at the expense of its 700,000 tenants,” he said, calling on the government to “reconsider their position on rent control.”
“The elephant in the room, the low-hanging fruit here, is reducing unwarranted evictions and bringing WA in line with the rest of the country.”
Mr Tucker did not say he bought a house on an 873 square meter block in Hamersley (pictured) in Perth’s north last November and rents it out for about $700 a week.
A State Government spokesperson responded: ‘With the current challenges facing WA’s rental market, it is not in the community’s best interests to make it more complex to own and manage a long-term rental property.
“Our state needs more investors in the market, and uncertainty about their ability to manage their own assets could prevent greater supply.”
WA Parliament disclosure rules mean Mr Tucker does not have to declare he bought the house until July.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Tucker for further comment on his housing situation.