Photo: Daily Telegraph: May 2018; A Paris-based financial group has warned Asian criminals are laundering money through the Australian property market. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/police-warn-government-foreign-crims-buying-homes-to-launder-money/news-story/132907707f783f1eec77f49499d049ea
COMMUNITY ACTION ALLIANCE FOR NSW (CAAN) provides a a recent Chronology of how this took place!
IN July 2018 … The Law Council of Australia opposed the extension of the Anti-Money Laundering Laws, the second tranche of the Legislation.
Executive board member Konrad de Kerloy said lawyers were already heavily regulated and the implementation of new AML laws would fall on professionals in rural and regional Australia.
“Whilst no lawyers want to be involved in wittingly or unwittingly in money laundering, the question is really, does the cost justify the imposition of an extra layer of regulation on lawyers?” Mr Konrad said.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia is also concerned about the cost of new legislation.
President Malcolm Gunning said the institute supports changes to AML laws but said real estate agents will need training to bring them up to speed.
“The Real Estate Institutes are not opposed to it, but the concern is the responsibility that goes with it and the education that is required to be able to enact that,” he told the Business in an interview.
“Real estate agents aren’t lawyers, they don’t study the law in depth, so if we are to be gatekeepers as with the conveyancers and say, necessarily the accountants and the advisers, then we need to be better educated.”
CAAN: This begs the question if ‘Real Estate Agents’ are not lawyers … and it is submitted that they will need training to bring them up to speed on the AML … how come they can command such excessive commissions?
Is their very large commission solely based on the inflated cost of housing? Cough … cough …
Their job is not up there with the complex work of a Solicitor, a Doctor, a Structural Engineer, or an Architect …
The real estate agent has access behind the Great Firewall to an exclusive audience of Chinese buyers on Juwai.com
Photo: Juwai.com
There are numerous Chinese newspapers circulated esp. in Sydney largely advertising Australian Real Estate including ‘The Chinese Vision Times’ and the ‘Epoch Times’ … and there are Chinese Property Papers … FFS!
Photo: From ‘The Chinese Vision Times‘; Good Ol’ Post-War Australian Homes Face the Bulldozer. ‘ … almost 4.2 million people moved to Australia between 1945 and 1985. These people built homes inspired by their European backgrounds and contributed heavily to the aesthetic and architectural culture of Australia. Today, these post-war homes are increasingly being demolished.’
NOTE … all too numerous attractive mid-Century and Heritage homes have been demolished to make way for redevelopment and a ‘Permanent Resident Visa’
Photos: The Daily Mail before and after demolition: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3282299/Chinese-investor-DEMOLISHES-historic-20-million-mansion-despite-neighbours-battling-save-beautiful-house.html
AUSTRALIA … What does that tell you? Cough … cough … as the ‘Race Card’ is pulled …
Photo: The Chinese Vision Times; Australian’s today have no use for such big homes so they are being bulldozed. (Image: via pixabay / CC0 1.0)
AUSTRALIAN HOMES are being ‘banked‘, demolished for redevelopment of more medium-density to house foreign buyers particularly from China and Hong Kong
CAAN Photo: 10 Townhouse development by Chinese developer where there was a home and a market garden.
With access to the Australian press, social media including WeChat, agency websites, and videos promoting sales … Real Estate is not rocket science … nor is it difficult with open house sessions.
We did a search and came up with this information …
IN NSW the average commission is 2.46 per cent of e.g. a property priced at $775,000 would cost $16,275 in Agent’s commission. Agents can charge a flat fee or a tiered commission (based on a percentage of the sale price)
Some agents include advertising and marketing costs in their commission, while for others this is an additional fee.
Search for: finder.com.au typical real estate agent fees
View: ‘Australia a place of choice for Money Laundering due to lack of Regulation: ANZ’
Malcolm Gunning; ABC News: Sue Lannin
This is the same Malcolm Gunning ... who proposed in September 2018 ‘Get two jobs’ and the Propertygandist’s advice for people struggling to pay rent
Was he gunning for Aussies? … Not only does he propose Millennials work two jobs … where the bloody hell are the jobs? Yet he implies “migrants” are more industrious.
IT would seem the “generation selfish” Gunning is talking about are Millennial RE AGENTS cruising around in their BEAMERS & AUDIS … in their designer suits splashing out on international holidays and smashed Avo … or is that passe?
*In October 2018 … unbeknowns to most …
‘The Scomo Govt exempted (excluded) the Real Estate Gatekeepers from the Anti-Money Laundering Laws in October 2018’ *
-real estate agents, lawyers and accountants
https://caanhousinginequalitywithaussieslockedout.com/2018/10/09/2665/
Enabling the Real Estate Gatekeepers to continue to market and seal deals with foreign buyers particularly in China and Hong Kong, and allowing the foreign buyers to splash their cash, their ‘hot money’ in our domestic housing to gain a Permanent Residency Visa along with Medicare benefits!
Following in February 2019 it was reported in the Australian Financial Review that REAL ESTATE AGENTS with the backing of the Law Council of Australia pulled off this Sting …
They were able to weasel their way out of this legislation allegedly on the basis that ‘imposing the full AML/CTF (the second tranche of the AML Laws) may create conflicts with the lawyer’s duty of confidentiality and the principle of client professional privilege!
President of the Law Council of Australia Arthur Moses, SC, said their profession was already extensively regulated by the states and territories under a comprehensive and robust regulatory system.
“The Law Council is concerned that imposing the full AML/CTF regulatory regime may create conflicts with the lawyer’s duty of confidentiality and the principle of client professional privilege, as well as increasing the cost of legal services to the community,” he said.
CAAN asked these questions …
WHY is it with the purchase of real estate there should be some difference compared to buying or selling a vehicle, why is it different?
Why is it difficult to apply laws to the purchase of real estate?
Why is that compromising a lawyer? Why should real estate be any different to any other matter?
If there are laws governing real estate so be it. It should not make any difference to a lawyer. If lawyers have a matter before them that involves a crime they have two choices:
-do it for their client knowing their risk
-not do it
View: ‘Labor to Target Lawyers, Accountants, Real Estate Agents’
https://caanhousinginequalitywithaussieslockedout.wordpress.com/2019/02/25/8720/
In June 2019 the new President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, Adrian Kelly said that others should also bear the regulatory burden.
“We are working with government on an approach that minimises the impact on agents because much of the information can be sought from others involved in the transaction process, including the banks and their conveying process.”
Further, Mr Kelly said they had been working with governments on any changes and that “in essence, we don’t have a problem” with Tranche 2 of the legislation.
“But what we do need to remember is that most estate agencies across Australia are very small businesses … we need to be mindful of the costs and red tape which might come about from whatever changes government decides,” he said.
CAAN Photo: Mid Century home demolished to be replaced by fugly medium-density redevelopment
WHERE is the mindfulness concerning the inflated cost of housing beyond the means of very many Australians? ... A Whole Cohort of Australians … pushed aside by foreign ‘black money’ laundering in our domestic housing market … with buyers particularly from China and Hong Kong and their Proxies taking over our suburbs, communities, neighbourhoods, and shopping centres … and the jobs?
WHAT NEXT AUSTRALIA? Before we are finished …
COMMUNITY ACTION ALLIANCE FOR NSW (CAAN): HOUSING INEQUALITY WITH AUSSIES LOCKED OUT! 