Albo's Housing Hypocrisy

Australia is struggling with a number of crisis situations – a cost-of-living crisis, a housing affordability crisis and a rental shortage crisis.

Our beloved Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared on many occasions how much he cares about the plight of ordinary Australians in dealing with these issues.

But, as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words – and that is particularly relevant to our elected representatives who love to stand before the media cameras and declare their concern for the people but fail to match their words with appropriate actions.

So, let’s look at how the Prime Minister has handled his personal housing market issues in 2024.

In May this year Albanese evicted a long-standing tenant in a property he owned in the Sydney suburb of Dulwich Hill.

At the time, the tenant declared he was shocked to learn he no longer had a place to live and had no idea he was going to be kicked out of his home of four years.

At the time the tenant said he had tried to seek clarification of the situation and why he had to leave but did not receive a response.

He said at the time: “It seems a little bit misaligned with the messaging Labor has been putting out ... about recognising how difficult it is for renters.”

He also said: “It’s a crippling blow for me right now. I have mixed emotions in calling this out. I voted for Albo at the last election and am broadly a supporter of his policies.”

So, PM Albanese, having got rid of the pesky tenant, then put the Dulwich Hill property on the market, with an auction scheduled for October.

This was a three-bedroom townhouse at 29B Lewisham St in Dulwich Hill which Albanese bought for $1.17 million in 2015 and was advertising for auction with a price guide of $1.9 million.

If it sold at that price, it would represent a 62% gain in nine years.

But then, at the last minute, the Prime Minister cancelled the auction and decided not to sell the property after all. He evicted his tenant because he said he wanted to sell and then decided NOT to sell.

Then, in the same week, it was revealed he had spent $4.3 million on a new home on the Central Coast north of Sydney.

This is Albo the battler we’re talking about, the guy who loves to talk about his tough working-class roots and growing up in a housing commission environment.

Albanese said he planned initially on leasing out the property with views over Copacabana Beach, with estimates he will pocket between $2000 and $2500 a week in rental income.

A Labor MP, who declined to be named, said the purchase was “not a great look” for Albanese, who will have to fight hard to hold on to government at the next federal election.

Responding to claims the purchase was a bad look in a cost-of-living crisis and a housing market crisis, Albanese, who earns more than $600,000 a year, said he knew “what it is like to struggle”, referring to his upbringing in public housing in Sydney’s Camperdown.

“I am much better off as Prime Minister. I earn a good income. I understand that,” he said.

Columnist Dennis Shanahan wrote in The Australian: “There are two unequivocal things to say about Anthony Albanese’s decision to buy a $4.3 million cliff top, ocean view home on the NSW Central Coast. The first is — good on him. Well done for living the Australian dream of home ownership and getting there on his own.

“The second is this — this has to be the dumbest, most damaging piece of political tone deafness and timing since Tony Abbott appointed Prince Philip as a “Knight of the Order of Australia” in the Australia Day honours’ list in 2015.”

Shanahan wrote: “No matter what Albanese says to justify the purchase, it’s a bad political look that makes him appear out of touch with people renting and trying to buy their own home. It also raises the immediate thought that it’s a retirement parachute for after the next election.”

Meanwhile, on the same day as the $4.3 million purchase was revealed, it was the AGM of Commonwealth Bank – which reported that more and more customers are feeling the pinch from the cost-of-living crisis.

Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn revealed huge numbers of Australians are falling behind on their mortgage repayments.

He told shareholders the bank has offered tailored hardship payment arrangements to 132,000 customers over the past year.

Comyn said: “Households are continuing to find it very challenging.”

But certainly not the household of our battler Prime Minister. Albo is doing very well indeed.

He’s just paid over $4 million for a home he won’t be living in and he has decided he doesn’t need to sell his $1.9 million investment property in Sydney to afford it.

And that’s perplexing news for the tenant he evicted on the grounds that he needed to sell the property, before subsequently changing his mind.