Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister representing the Treasurer (Senator Gallagher) to a question without notice I asked today relating to foreign ownership.

I've got to respond to Senator Gallagher's answer to my question about foreign ownership. I've been in this chamber now for the last 10 years, and all I've heard in the recent years since Labor took over is complaints about housing. This is the worst situation that housing has been in in this country. Why? Because of mass migration into the country. We've got more people coming in. During this term of their government, two million people have come into this country, and that's why we have a housing crisis. They said they'd put a $10 billion fund there, but the fact is that the first $50 million went on administration, not to building one house.

Now, my question was about foreign ownership. The minister said we're down to 0.05 per cent. In 2017, nearly 10 years ago, the ANZ bank estimated foreigners owned up to 400,000 existing homes. That's disgraceful. The Taxation Office and the Foreign Investment Review Board said it was less than two per cent of purchases each year, but, if you listen to the real estate agents who deal with sales, they believe it's closer to 10 per cent. My concern is that foreign investors are usually not associated with our Taxation Office, so here we're going to ridicule Australians owning homes for that negative gearing. How do we know foreign investors aren't building homes out here, renting them out to people here, having Australians paying them rent and don't have to comply with it because they're not associated with our Australian Taxation Office? The money is leaving the country.

Another thing is whether the question has been asked. What about capital gains tax? Are these foreigners that you say don't own the houses here—they are selling the houses here—complying with the capital gains tax that should be paid? This government is going after every Australian that has paid their taxes along the way and has accumulated a way to provide for themselves later in life. Now you're going after them. This is nothing but a grab—to put it in your coffers to use in the next election. That's what this is, and that's why Australians will never get into the housing market—because of your foreign investors in the country plus your mass migration. You have destroyed this nation. That's what Labor has done, and it is telling lies constantly to the Australian people. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.