Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s new $4.3 million cliffside home may have raised the ire of voters, but he isn’t the only politician with an enviable property portfolio.

His Labor government MPs own an average of 2.4 properties each, including properties owned by their spouses, while their opposition counterparts come in just below that at 2.3 properties per Liberal-Nationals MPs in the lower house, Open Politics reports.

Sean Johnson, the founder of Open Politics, said that with so many representatives entrenched in the property market, it can give the perception of a conflict of interest when they are tasked with reforming Australia’s housing legislation.

“Albanese has done nothing illegal and he’s going to declare it within 28 days of the final settlement, as required by the rules,” he said.

“No one begrudges people for getting wealthier, but they don’t want it done on the back of negative gearing and capital gains concessions, which he no doubt would have benefited from.”

Some 40 per cent of Australia’s Parliament owns three or more properties, totalling 521 declared properties across Parliament House.

About 15 per cent of Australians own an investment property.

However, one per cent of investors own a quarter of all property investments.

Top investors

Johnson said with conflicts of interest, perception can be just as damaging as reality when it comes to the public’s confidence in the political system.

“It is a non-productive asset. It’s not true investing in the sense that it is new R&D, innovation or a manufacturing process,” he said.

“Andrew Charlton, the member for Paramatta, is 40 and his property portfolio is worth over $40 million.”

Charlton added a $12 million Palm Beach house to his portfolio in 2020, but isn’t leading the list of properties owned.

That honour falls to Liberal Nola Marina, the member for Forrest, who owns a whopping eight properties, most of them in rural areas.

The extensive property holdings of LNP members may be why some have skirted around criticising the Prime Minister’s newest purchase, beyond labelling it “tone deaf”.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton only currently owns one property after selling off several in his $5 million investment portfolio, but was caught failing to declare a retail investment property in 2020.

“I have a problem with the timing, and this is tone deaf during a housing crisis,” Jane Hume, the opposition’s housing spokesperson, told Sunrise.

“The Prime Minister has every right to make plans for his retirement, but I think there are plenty of Australians – and probably some of his colleagues – that would like to see it happen sooner rather than later.”

Johnson said that although failing to declare interests can be considered a “serious contempt of Parliament,” sanctions are rarely enforced.

Neither The New Daily nor Johnson are alleging that owning property while in Parliament is wrong or corrupt, but it does raise serious questions when those with extensive real estate portfolios are charged with legislating solutions to Australia’s current housing crisis.

Politically homeless

There are only five MPs without any real estate: Liberal James Stevens, Labor’s Matt Burnell and Josh Burns and Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather.

Chandler-Mather said that the Labor and the Liberal parties have “created a housing system where it is easier for a property investor to buy a $4.3 million clifftop property than it is for a teacher or nurse to buy their first home”.

“The reality is you have a bunch of Labor and Liberal property investor politicians all voting in a way that protects their access to highly lucrative property investor tax handouts in the form of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount,” he said.

“Australians will see Labor and Liberal politicians refusing to make any changes to property investor handouts that benefit them, and be pretty disappointed with the political class who vote in their own interests to screw over renters and first-home buyers.”