An Independent Review of the 2019 ‘First Home Buyers’ Scheme finds it has hurt Prospective Home Owners!

October 28, 2021October 28, 2021 / caa4nsw

DOES it really come as a surprise that a scheme promoted by Scott Morrison at the 2019 Election allegedly to help First Home Buyers into the property market has actually hurt many of these prospective property owners?

That this has been a factor in putting upward pressure on house prices!

Because those fortunate enough to be counted within the Cap of the 10,000 properties a year in fact had more cash in their hands to bid (and bid up the prices of properties) hurting other prospective property owners.

The house price hike has hurt all Home Buyers … this Grants Scheme together with low interest rates, and ‘hot money’ awash in our Housing Market have together pushed up house prices …

Scott Morrison before entering politics wrote the policy for the developer lobby, The Property Council of Australia, could this have had some bearing on government policies … ?

IT would seem that some of our MPs have lobbyists working with them … because the NSW Government is now looking at the capital gains discount …

‘Now it’s Liberals telling us we are going to have to cut the Capital Gains Tax Concession if we want to get Australians into Homes’

The NSW Government has picked up from where BILL SHORTEN was cut off!

… saying it “pushes first home buyers out of the market,” and that if the concession was cut:

-housing would be used “more for accommodation needs than investment needs”.

HOW amazing is that!

https://www.domain.com.au/news/now-its-liberals-telling-us-we-are-going-to-have-to-cut-the-capital-gains-tax-concession-if-we-want-to-get-australians-into-homes-1098710/?utm_campaign=strap-masthead&utm_source=smh&utm_medium=link&utm_content=pos4&ref=pos1&fbclid=IwAR1QUe1WzDJUz5Kee1j_T9DP0CcosJj1zdpL68RKCm3cKjs3pfmjylN7zt8

The Moral of the Story …. Is to SHARE and keep talking about this, and the other factors behind the Housing Affordability Crisis!

Including:

-low interest rates

-government grants including the First Home Scheme

-and the ‘hot money awash’ in Australia’s housing market because the Morrison Government exempted the Real Estate Gatekeepers in October 2018 from the second tranche of the Anti-Money Laundering Laws !

Transparency International Australia CEO, Serena Lillywhite said that:

Mystery foreign buyers distort our Housing Market …

“It’s actually impacting on everyday Australians,”

’Australians trying to crack into the property market are facing the extra hurdle of competing against mystery foreign investors, according to corporate transparency experts and the federal opposition.’

Cashed-Up Foreign Buyers still seek Aussie Property; A Big Factor in House Price Hike!

October 26, 2021October 26, 2021 / caa4nsw

CAAN looks at “Cashed-up foreign buyers still seek Australian property, but are they really to blame for price rises?”

-Is the wool being pulled over our eyes?

The latest survey from the Foreign Investment Review Board (the FIRB) indicates that ‘overseas buyers purchasing activity has hit record lows’ … falling to 7,056 this year from 40,141 in 2015-16 … hm …

Foreign buyers already have their Onshore Proxies here whose clients have been flying in … in the hundreds of thousands for two decades …

So they are already here … they are ‘Permanent Residents’ …

During the Pandemic could real estate agents have been dealing with these Proxies, or negotiating sales online for first home buyers (FHBs) from South-East Asia? Eh?

As revealed in a number of reports shared on CAAN Australian home buyers including FHBs appear to have been set-up (wiped out) by a number of factors including the price push from this property sector, low interest rates, government grants, and wealthy foreign cash buyers pushing up prices for a very limited supply of housing!

… much of the Australian housing stock is investor-owned

CoreLogic says international buyer demand has dropped over the past six years yet Agents tell us that there is a lot of foreign money around … it does not stretch the imagination too far to figure that with the onshore Proxy that many sales appear to be Australian …(Chinese-Australian, Indonesian-Australian, Vietnamese-Australian, Indian-Australian) … contemplate the possibility … the likelihood that through an onshore proxy that this has concealed the extent of foreign buying of what was Australian real estate …

–Are International Buyers taking over?

Through visa manipulation a ‘Permanent Resident’ can buy homes for Family members …

Initially having flown into Australia as a Student to purchase ‘a new home’, and gained their PR Visa, this visa holder then seeks to bring out their family through a ‘Family Visa’ and the like …

And here it is in ‘black and white’ from this article:

‘Many first-home buyers are migrants who recently acquired their PR (permanent residency), and they are highly motivated by their new access to the government’s support packages and benefits for first-home buyers.’

It would seem they have gained this PR Visa as family migrant members. And their adult children can then gain access to the government’s First Home Buyer benefits.

Looks like more special treatment for ‘new residents’ that Australian Taxpayers have worked to fund over decades …

This decade Australians including the Tran-Smiths have had some bad experiences.

‘A real estate agent gave us a cold shoulder at a property viewing in Hurstville but treated foreign families with a completely different attitude,’ Mrs Tran-Smith said.

Others have informed CAAN where they have noticed agents engaging warmly with Asian buyers after they were dismissed … A woman told us that on arrival at an inspection the agent scowled at her, and rudely waived her to his junior. This agent was later seen chatting warmly with a likely old Daigou …

So blatant!

Later this Australian buyer said she emailed this firm for a copy of the contract and Building/Pest Report the junior agent called her, and said they have been sent … with a follow up call from this agent he crazily abused her! What is going on?

In another instance, a couple told us that one agent repeatedly wrote in his emails that he would forward the contract and link to the Building Report. Neither document was received. They requested he forward the documents by return email. To no avail!

Yet after the auction he then forwarded these documents! So what is going on?

-‘Australia is the Swiss Bank of the Asia-Pacific Region’

Of course, agents and fellow Real Estate Gatekeepers blatantly prefer foreign black money because the Morrison Government made them exempt from the Anti-Money Laundering Laws in October 2018!

And this has inflated house prices obviously … through cash side deals …

–Why are Aussie properties so attractive?

Of course, international buyers including South-East Asian buyers will have an amazing sense of ‘certainty and security’ when buying our real estate … it is a win/win for them as they gain ‘Permanent Residency’ on such a purchase! And they can then go on a real estate buying spree …

The FIRB advises that foreigners can only purchase a ‘new home’ and not our established housing … who took this seriously?

… So they buy a one-bedroom apartment … gain the Permanent Resident Visa … and can then purchase a number of established homes if they so desire … or more ‘new homes’ … indeed Australia is the Swiss Bank for South-East Asians.

–Desirable Foreign Buyers

It’s as though the stable economy, the legal system and safe haven for preserving wealth and comprehensive protection for property owners has been legislated for them!

Migrants from earlier programmes tell us there were no property deals like this for them!

Wealthy Chinese especially from the mainland, Hong Kong, and Singapore, investors from Indonesia and Vietnam … with Australia being the closest developed country to Asia, are lured, obviously by our blue sky, gum trees, beautiful beaches, public schools and hospitals! Free!

And apartment blocks built especially for them … where they have been able to buy up a whole floor … with no real competition because Australians don’t have the cash to buy a floor! Many cannot afford an apartment! Locked out!!

Real Estate Agent, Mr Tran says he treats all clients equally yet he specialises in selling our real estate to South-East Asian buyers … it would appear that is because many of these clients are high-end, and cashed-up obviously willing to make quick decisions with the benefits attached to such a deal!

–Buyers Lives are on Hold!

Taken up with exploring listings websites … in some instances driving hundreds of Kms a week … medical and dental appointments are cancelled … gatherings with friends and family are postponed to fit in property inspections often during the week too!

It is exhausting as these reports reveal as prices continue to rise! 20.3% over 12 months!

It is bizarre with much of the housing on the market defective! Buyers so pent-up … from the torture of years of a cooked market from overseas competition …

So many homes on the market with termite muddying up into the roof timbers, water penetration in lower ground rooms, loose-fill asbestos insulation, dodgy renos, and concrete cancer in the slab.

Where will the money come from to carry out repairs after $6,000 – $8000 monthly mortgage payments?

-Prices are still Rising because Hot Money is awash in our Real Estate Market

Apart from money launderers gaining Permanent Residency, who else benefits from the price hikes?

It appears some are lawless in this sector … hiding behind low mortgage rates alleging that Australians (who have been enduring the lowest wages growth) have more household savings … some may do … agree the Morrison Government incentives pushed up prices because for years FHBs have been locked out, and were desperate to take up any offer!

Why did some of these real estate agents in January 2021 pump up prices by $200,000 with $2M houses and not the guide of $1.5M as they did weeks previously with like properties? … If it were not to set this price hike in train?

IT is obvious there is much foreign ‘hot money’ awash in what was Australian real estate …

Related Article: “Cashed-up foreign buyers still seek Australian property, but are they really to blame for price rises?”

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-26/international-buyers-role-in-rising-property-prices/100565494

How the Big 4 Consultants hold Sway over Voters through our Governments!

October 25, 2021October 25, 2021 / caa4nsw

An excellent report from Crispin Hull!

We recommend you Share with others, and copy for your information!

Key Points …

-Josh Frydenberg was considering increasing immigration; the ACCI called for skilled migrant intake to 200,000

-business wants this for a pool of cheap labour; weakens workers bargaining power

-Australia does not have a skills shortage but a training shortage

-most jobs on the skilled shortage list are jobs like ‘chef’ not ‘rocket scientist’

The Furphy …

it would take a crush load of migrants under 40 to impact the age profile
those immigrants age too
appalling insult that people aged over 65 are a drain

-a lot of alarmist drivel about lower population and therefore lower GDP

-with lower GDP shared among fewer people everyone will be better off

-better to be richer in a small economy than poorer in a larger one!

-why do pollies listen to business? Because the public service has been eroded; replaced with policy advice from big consultants

-the Greens promise to build a million ‘affordable’ homes despite the environmental cost

-a housing crisis in Australia due to a tax policy which favours investment in homes; squeezing out home buyers

READ AND SHARE THE FULL REPORT!

‘Back to rotten politics as usual’

http://www.crispinhull.com.au/2021/10/22/back-to-rotten-politics-as-usual/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=crispin-hull-column-16-nov-2019_99

ABC INSIDERS: Interview by David Spears with Matt Kean on Housing Supply and Affordability (?)

October 24, 2021October 24, 2021 / caa4nsw

ABC INSIDERS: INTERVIEW BY DAVID SPEARS WITH MATT KEAN 24 OCTOBER 2021

SKIP ALONG TO ABOUT 9.26 MINUTES AND DAVID SPEARS RAISES THE QUESTION OF HOUSING AFFORDABILITY WITH MATT KEAN

SADLY Matt Kean repeats the same old policy speak that many Economists are now questioning on Housing Affordability and Supply.

DS: Skyrocketing house prices through this Pandemic. What should be done about it?

KEY POINTS FROM MATT KEAN

-interest rates

-the need to put in place policies that will make access to home ownership affordable for everyone ****

-but in a way that does not destroy the wealth of existing home owners !!!!!+++++******

(who despite owning the same old house with muddying up into the roof timbers; concrete cancer in the foundation concrete slab concealed by the new timber laminate; asbestos insulation up in the roof; and damp … it has skyrocketed 20% over 2021 … so far!

AND if you sold in 2020 to find there was nothing to buy you are Fk-d now …. )

-nothing is off the table

DS: Are you looking at housing supply which is one area the States are responsible for because it doesn’t look like NSW is keeping up with housing supply?

Treasury says you need to add an additional 42,000 homes – to be added to the stock every year. Why isn’t that happening?

-the NSW Government will be looking at all the policy levers

-look at the options to ensure all First Home Owners can get access to the market

DS: Dominic Perrottet is talking about a Big NSW, just how big, and what pressure would that put on Housing?

-skilled migration has been key to the economic success of this country for generations

-we should continue to make sure it continues for the years ahead!

-we have major skill shortages and labour shortages; we need to get skilled labour and migrant labour back into this country

DS: How big do you want NSW to be?

-big enough to be able to ensure we raise living standards *@@!!###$$%%^^**

DS: Are you in favour of broadening the GST?

-ensure that NSW gets its fair share

-my focus as the Treasurer in undertaking the productivity reforms

DS: Does that include increasing the rate and broadening the base of the GST

-we will work with the Commonwealth

DS: What is your view as the State Treasurer on the GST?

-we need to make sure that NSW gets its fair share; how the Commonwealth goes about that is their business

-the area of Kean’s focus being productivity reforms intended to drive this country forward.to increase the participation of women in the workforce

-we want the Commonwealth to invest in NSW to drive the country forward

CAAN: When interest rates rise women may have no choice but to return to the workforce if they are not already doing so!

VIEW:

https://www.abc.net.au/insiders/nsw-treasurer-matt-kean/13601004

All Home Buyers Hit with ‘Emotional Trauma’ seeking a Home in the Sky-High Property Market

October 24, 2021October 24, 2021 / caa4nsw

FIRST HOME BUYERS … AND every other home buyer caught up in this ‘driven’ sky-high property Ponzi is being hit with an ‘emotional rollercoaster’ …

WITH a daily chore of searching the online listings … chasing agents, driving up and down the motorways …

From finding ‘a dream’ at the outset … down to ‘a place’ … forking out for inspections, holding deposits to learn it is at ‘high risk!’ …

Again and again over months! Competing with cashed-up investors, overseas buyers, and owner-occupiers who will sell for $2M or more …

Many have to forget about being close to family and friends or finding a sound investment as prices gallop …

So what is out there?

… termite muddying up into the roof … water penetration … loose-fill asbestos insulation … concrete cancer in the floor slab under the new timber laminate …

That’s apart from busy motorways nearby … a line of power stanchions at the back corner …

AND the dilapidated … yep!

BUYERS find they are losing it … having sold the family home last year the question is will they find another to call home?

It’s about safety … SHELTER … and needs on your own … your family’s inheritance diminished through no fault of your own

Meanwhile the Spin Doctors for the sector daily report house prices rising to lure more sellers … and the likes of that Bernie suggesting Millennials are wasteful and living high … are locked out on low wages! Even Young Professionals are locked out!

All buyers lives are on hold it is not a personal failing … it is a failing of those Who have put the inept there to preside over this shemozzle …

READ MORE about the impact on First Home Buyers …

‘First Home Buyers hit with ‘Emotional Rollercoaster’ trying to break into Sky-High Property Market’

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-24/the-emotional-toll-of-breaking-into-australias-property-market/100557108

NSW has a Crack at CG Tax Breaks for Investors to address Affordability for First Home Buyers

October 22, 2021October 23, 2021 / caa4nsw

THIS is CAAN’s response to ‘NSW takes aim at capital gains tax breaks for property investors in bid to help first-home buyers’

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-22/nsw-capital-gains-ax-changes-investors-first-home-buyers/100558634

JUST when one gets their hopes up with … of all things … NSW INC taking a shot at the Feds for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Breaks for property investors!

The 50% capital gains tax discount which provides a large tax break for investors selling homes they have owned for 12 months or more! It means these investors only have to pay tax on half of the profit made when they sell.

Smoke and mirrors …

But are NSW serious?

Nah … we are not Economists, but soon see through this … it’s been Trumped up to look like NSW INC is on our side, but

there would be no CGT if it were not for NEGATIVE GEARING in the first place …

We know some property investors who have 5, 10, 50 or more ‘homes’ under their belt … and multiply that by the number of property investors, and one can readily see why there is a shortage of homes for First Home Buyers … any Home Buyers!

The NSW Submission suggested that the combined effect of negative gearing and CGT was likely to be a moderate increase in house prices …

DESPITE the more than 20% house price increase already over 2021!

It acknowledged the displacement of owner-occupiers from owning a home by the tax incentivised wealthy investors!

NSW INC merely suggests the policy be reviewed …

What does an ‘appropriate balance between the purchases of properties for owner-occupied and investment reasons’ mean?

Months ago First Home Buyers fell by the wayside … it was only those who had wealthy parents to back them with some $90,000 who got into the housing market earlier this year

The median house price in Sydney is more than $1.3M compare that figure to those who sold in late 2020 for say $1.3 – $1.8M … many are still searching, and far beyond Sydney

NSW INC recognised that super low interest rates and government grants allegedly to help FHBs have in fact pushed up house prices.

And submitted that the Federal Government ‘holds the levers that could be improving affordability.’

So what is holding the Liberal Coalition back?

Do they fear criticism from their voter base … by acknowledging that what Labor took to the 2019 Election was correct, and would have prevented the Housing Affordability Crisis now being experienced?

Labor’s policy provided the levers to address this, and would have done no harm to property investors as their investments were to be grandfathered.

What does ‘grandfather’ mean? It would allow investors to continue benefiting from their property investments as they did before. They could keep their investment properties if they so chose.

And in fact they were encouraged to invest in ‘new homes’ which benefited both investors and the development sector! A win/win!!

It meant that if investors were to sell established homes this increased the supply for the home buyer market (esp. FHBs)

What of the Fair Go?

In 2019 the Liberal Coalition ran a fear campaign about Labor’s proposed changes to Negative Gearing and Capital Gains Tax … Morrison alleged such changes would make for a housing market crash …

NOW housing despite much of the stock being of a lesser quality is selling at super inflated prices.

No doubt this has come back to bite many that were duped by this Liberal campaign …

Many now having handed over their nest egg to their children for a home deposit … others are housing their children and grandchildren as their homes become Kindies, and are being trashed …

Wages are low, and this can make saving for a deposit nigh impossible … and we have shared numerous reports about why wages are low …

We have a crisis now here in Australia of unaffordable housing as ‘the Party Dries’ call for a return to high immigration (Visa manipulation) allegedly to improve the economy with even more competition for housing!

Meanwhile the Build-to-Rent Sector is quietly growing as investors seek to grow their wealth at the expense of life-time tenancy … even for young professionals …

Liberal chair of the Housing Affordability Inquiry

MP Jason Falinski acknowledged the impact on Australians under 40 (Millennials and others) but merely proposes to look at CGT … he suggests that this tax discount applies to all assets not just property …

Somewhat dismissive it appears Falinski suggests that economists have looked at the CG tax concession for housing and that its impact is between a mere 1 and 4%

The Big Porky!

Falinski trots out the same old … same old of ‘planning’ behind the housing affordability issues

And ‘supply’ which is what the devil-opers say … they always want more …

Further, suggesting this fell to the NSW Government planning system as more and more forests are felled for housing to meet the overseas migration demand … because a whole Cohort of Australians under 40 are locked out

What has blinkered Falinski in suggesting that NSW is responsible when the Federal Liberal Coalition policies since 2013 have meant that high immigration has led to an increased demand for housing.

Prior to the Pandemic there were 2.3 Million Visa holders in Australia … no mention of this by the PM when he said he cut permanent migration by a mere 30,000 to 160,000 p.a.

1.6 Million of these Visa holders were workers competing in our jobs market which has contributed to Australia’s low wages growth

It would seem with property investor portfolios, foreign property investor portfolios, and high immigration that is why there is an undersupply of homes for any Australian home buyers …

NSW Government wants to scrap Stamp Duty for a Land Tax

True, Stamp Duty is a major additional cost for Home Buyers, but Land Tax is another annual expense like Council Rates … and it is forever!

NSW INC has described Stamp Duty as the state’s ‘most inefficient tax’! It adds 2 and a half years for a full-time worker to save for a deposit! Falinksi agreed Stamp Duty should go however he proposes the current cheap finance would eliminate the need for Federal Government help!

IT would seem that the Tax system needs revision whereby Tax Benefits, Tax Avoidance and Tax Minimisation ought be addressed urgently rather than hitting Home Buyers with either stamp duty or land tax!

ABC News Journalist Joe O’Brien interview with Geoffrey Watson SC 21 October 2021

October 21, 2021October 21, 2021 / caa4nsw

‘The Morrison Government to establish a broad inquiry into the Anonymous Fee Donor Rules after blocking Christian Porter’s referral to Inquiry!’ Read more!

AND view the response from Geoffrey Watson SC, Director, The Centre for Public Integrity. Find the link at the end …

‘This government has trashed transparency’:
Geoffrey Watson says there are a number of questions that need answering …

KEY POINTS …

-in terms of the Process this is contrary to over 100 years of Parliamentary
Practice

.established good practice

-the actions of the Government are an attack on the independence of the speaker; designed to keep the donors secret; giving scope to Mr Porter to refuse to reveal who the donors are; why should the
Parliament accept that?

.why should MPs not bound by the same concepts of confidentiality accept that?

.why has the Government stepped in behind Mr Porter to protect these donors from becoming publicly known?

-it is not political because it went through the Speaker; the Speaker came to a position there was a prima facie case worth investigating; that is not political; it is the opposite independent of political process

-the Morrison Government has engaged in measures designed to crush transparency; this has been going on since 2013 when Mr Morrison announced on Water Matters in 2013

.a government opposed to transparency

.labelling the meaning of the First Minister as the National Cabinet; it is rubbish

-everyone has bandied around the figure of $1M; it is unknown when the offer was made; if it was made before settlement; did it include an indemnity in respect of Mr Porter’s own costs

.there might have been a promise of $ Millions and Millions involved

-this sets a bad precedence; if a Blind Trust is an effective device to hide the source of money, why not in other instances?

THE difference between process and substance:

1. you have harmed the reputation of Parliament

2. undermined the independence of the Speaker

3. confined or restricted Parliament’s ability to scrutinize the conduct of its own members

4. engaged in a Cover-up

-makes a mockery of the Register of Interests; we are not going to be allowed to know

-Mr Watson’s role an independent role; not a Party political role; he has avoided this at all costs

-over the last 7 years watched this same government trash transparency; trashed integrity

-now in the process of trashing Parliamentary Procedure

‘… Something has gone wrong with this government I’d say that it is time for this government to go! …

As soon as I heard about this, (independence) it really really troubled me; I haven’t come to that statement lightly. …

… I am urging anybody who has got faith in the Parliamentary system, those colleagues of the Speaker, Mr Smith, who have got faith in his good judgment – I am urging them to cross the floor!

A number of people under challenge because they are in inner city seats – Mr Sharman and Mr Zimmerman – who were saying “I don’t agree with everything the government is saying”. Well, prove
it! Why don’t you just cross the floor on a matter of conscience like this … in fact they just act as a herd!’

-this has damaged Parliament; it is not just a day to day issue; defiled the role of the Speaker and crossed the line!

More about What is behind the Pandora Papers?

October 8, 2021March 11, 2022 / caa4nsw

ALAN KOHLER writes in ‘The Real Scandal in the Pandora Papers’

‘The most disturbing part of the Four Corners program this week about the PANDORA PAPERS leak was the statement by Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson that lobbying and donations by lawyers, accountants and real estate agents have successfully blocked any action on money laundering in Australia.‘

CAAN: Sadly this is true!

HOW did this ‘Pushback’ happen? Lobbying by the Real Estate Institute and the Law Council!

It appears the gatekeepers dodged the responsibility by passing the buck when then 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,” he said.

When it was unlikely that funds were being transferred through the Australian Banking system, but rather through black cash, shadow banking and wire transfer of the money to an offshore bank account in a tax haven to be laundered in Casinos and Australian Real Estate!

Experts say tens of billions of dollars would have been moved from China to Australia by Chinese kleptocrats, as corrupt officials attempt to park their funds in a safe jurisdiction.

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.

IS that credible?

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

IT was the Morrison Government that exempted the Real Estate Gatekeepers in October 2018!

Read more!

‘Real estate agents, lawyers and accountants to avoid money laundering laws’

https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/real-estate-agents-lawyers-and-accountants-to-avoid-money-laundering-laws-20181008-h16dcd

IN fact the second tranche of the Anti-Money Laundering Laws applicable to the Real Estate Gatekeepers (real estate agents, lawyers, and accountants ) was shelved back in 2006 … so it sat there until October 2018 when the Morrison Government exempted these gatekeepers from the AML Laws unlike the Banks!

Alan Kohler writes …. ‘ …. and both major parties apparently complying, is both sadly believable and shameful.’

The Federal Labor Party failed to implement and enforce the second tranche during its term from 2007 to 2013. But nor did the Liberal Coalition implement the second tranche for the gatekeepers from 2013 to date 2021!

In the lead-up to the 2019 Election in February 2019 Shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen promised to make cross-border financial crime a pillar of Labor’s election campaign in wake of the Hayne royal commission, including pledging to reverse cuts to the Australian Federal Police and Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in response also flagged additional funding in the April 2 budget for the financial regulators including ASIC, and it is understood they were to commit additional money and staff for the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.

Labor’s pledge came amid concerns over private-sector “bounty hunters” acting for China to recoup the proceeds of financial crime and corruption funnelled into Australia’s property market.

The Morrison government promised to pass new anti-money laundering laws in 2018, but they were yet to pass Parliament, granting lawyers, accountants and estate agents a reprieve.!!

Mr Bowen promised to go further, but the industry signalled a fight.

“The government has completely dropped the ball on money laundering reform. According to the government’s own work plan, real estate agents should already be covered by our money laundering laws. The Liberals have done nothing to progress this,” Mr Bowen said.

“The Liberals aren’t interested in prosecuting serious financial crime,” he said. “They cut funding to ASIC, they planned to cut funding to the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce and they ripped hundreds of millions of dollars out of the Australian Federal Police, who work with our partners abroad to disrupt transnational organised crime,” the shadow treasurer said.

Read more!

‘Labor to Target Lawyers Accountants Real Estate Agents’

https://www.afr.com/companies/labor-to-target-lawyers-accountants-real-estate-agents-20190224-h1bnd3

The Liberal party pursued a very dirty ‘Labor Taxes’ Campaign … AND here we are now!

With a property BOOOM that has locked out both First Home Buyers and Sellers!

Alan Kohler writes ‘Inaction on both sides’.

Last December, the government put forward a minor amendment to the AMLTCF law and the Greens used it to put up a further amendment requiring that second tranche to be legislated by July 1 this year.

Both major parties voted against it.

PERHAPS Labor has another plan … because it was so open prior to the 2019 Election it is not now going to follow the same path … ?

In announcing Labor’s vote, Senator Kimberley Kitching said: “While we support the intent of the additional designated services proposed by the Greens, Labor does not believe this is the right way to achieve considered law reform. We are concerned about the unintended consequences of this amendment and want to make sure our counterterrorism financing laws make it harder, not easier, for money launderers or terrorist financiers.”

According to the Greens’ Treasury spokesman, Senator Nick McKim, “Australia is now one of only six countries in the world not to have included the gatekeepers within the scope of anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws”.

The others are the United States, China, Madagascar, Mauritius and Mongolia.

MANY of us question what benefits are there for us with a Foreign Investment Review Board running, it appears, contrary to our interests, with so much competition, and much of it hidden, for our Property (residential, commercial and agricultural)?

The Morrison Government in exempting the Real Estate Gatekeepers from the AML Laws has allowed this competition to flourish locking out even more Australians from owning a home in their own country as the gatekeepers prosper even more. With Agents working buyer against buyer, and some hidden, to bid up prices as Australian buyers are left to languish on the sidelines.

DESPITE there having been all too numerous reports on money raised in China through real estate and bank loan fraud …

And the AFP has alleged the proceeds of crime have been used to purchase or develop properties in Australia

The Paris based Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) found that Australian homes are a haven for laundered funds, particularly from China.

Transparency International ranked Australia as having the weakest anti-money laundering laws in the Anglosphere; failing all 10 priority areas.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions claimed the entire ecosystem for the buying and selling property using cross-border fund flows is beyond the reach of Australian regulators!

ABC Report APRA tightens home loan rules as New Zealand’s Reserve Bank lifts interest rates

October 6, 2021October 6, 2021 / caa4nsw

LOOKS like APRA is doing its bit …

‘The increase in the interest rate buffer applies to all new borrowers, but
APRA said the impact of a higher serviceability buffer is likely to be larger
for investors than owner-occupiers.

It said this is because, on average, investors tend to borrow at higher levels
of leverage and may have other existing debts (to which the buffer would
also be applied).

It noted that first home buyers tend to be under-represented as a share of
borrowers borrowing a high multiple of their income as they tend to be more
constrained by the size of their deposit.‘

Transparency International Australia CEO says Mystery Foreign Buyers distort our Housing Market …

October 5, 2021October 5, 2021 / caa4nsw

’Australians trying to crack into the property market are facing the extra hurdle of competing against mystery foreign investors, according to corporate transparency experts and the federal opposition.’

There have been calls for a public register of ultimate company owners since 2016 …

BUT is that enough?

The Morrison Government has not committed to such a register!

Labor has not yet committed to implementing such a register if it wins the next election … obviously it is keeping its powder dry following the dirty LNP coalition campaign in 2019 …

The Pandora Papers have revealed how offshore business structures are being used in Australia to conceal corporate ownership.

This is impacting our Families … and YET we need to provide more proof of identity to get a library card than what is needed to register a company in Australia.

IT is not only about multimillion-dollar purchases, but Australians are unaware of who they are competing with when trying to buy a home because real estate agents, accountants and lawyers are not required to report a suspicious transaction like the banks!

This is because the Morrison Government exempted these gatekeepers from the second tranche of the Anti-Money Laundering Laws in October 2018!

And this invasion really distorts the market! Treasurer Josh Frydenberg only indicated that work was underway to establish a register in the future … why be so vague?

AND despite the Pandora Papers now being public there was nothing further to add!

Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers said:

“Every time a wealthy, powerful, influential person gets away with these kinds of practices, ordinary working people have to pay more.

“That’s why we need to do what we can to try and stamp it out. That begins with transparency.”

Help keep family & friends informed by SHARING our questions and this article!

READ AND VIEW:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-05/pandora-papers-show-impact-of-mystery-foreign-property-investors/100515630

COMMUNITY ACTION ALLIANCE FOR NSW (CAAN): HOUSING INEQUALITY WITH AUSSIES LOCKED OUT!

WHY? Bad government policy to benefit Big End of Town

Month: October 2021

An Independent Review of the 2019 ‘First Home Buyers’ Scheme finds it has hurt Prospective Home Owners!

Cashed-Up Foreign Buyers still seek Aussie Property; A Big Factor in House Price Hike!

How the Big 4 Consultants hold Sway over Voters through our Governments!

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ABC News Journalist Joe O’Brien interview with Geoffrey Watson SC 21 October 2021

More about What is behind the Pandora Papers?

ABC Report APRA tightens home loan rules as New Zealand’s Reserve Bank lifts interest rates

Transparency International Australia CEO says Mystery Foreign Buyers distort our Housing Market …

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