“We have a lot of housing within the city areas that are empty because they are owned by foreigners who do not live in this country,” the questioner asked.
Dutton pointed to the Coalition’s policy for $5 billion to build 500,000 homes, to cut to migration to get Australian kids into housing, and a two-year ban on foreign buyers from purchasing existing housing stock.
“That’s because I don’t want foreign buyers competing against young Australians at auctions or at the sale of the house that they thought they’re buying,” Dutton said in response.
The Prime Minister has a go: “Effectively, we have put in place a two-year ban on foreign ownership of homes.
“We think that’s appropriate at the moment, in order to ensure that homes are available for Australians, we’re increasing supply in housing, whether it be private rentals, whether it be public and social housing (where I grew up) or whether it be home ownership as well.”
Dutton was pressed by 74-year-old grandmother Janine about why the two-year ban on foreign home buyers only applied to existing homes rather than new builds.
He said that new unit developments require pre-sales in order to get the finance.
“What we didn’t want to do was cut out some of those pre sales, and a portion of some of those pre sales will be to foreign students, for example. But it allows that project to get up and running, and it allows those 200 units to come onto the market.”
— Sara Tomevska and Anna Henderson