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

One Nation is the only political party that is fighting for Australians to actually own their own homes. The dream is to own your own home. This foreign investment, where it's at now, is just ridiculous. I'm pleased to see that the Dutton coalition is now picking up my policy, although foreign investment has only been put on hold for two years. As far as I'm concerned, there should be an unlimited hold on it and those foreign investors in Australia should have to sell up properties. After two to three years, it should be put on the market and sold. I'll tell you why.

Our dollar is down so much. It's basically nearly half—well, it is half—of what it is in the UK and about two-thirds of the euro, and you've got the United States as well. So our dollar is down, and it's not a level playing field for these people from overseas buying properties here in Australia. They're bringing in money that is a lot to us. In buying the properties here in Australia, they are actually increasing the price—supply and demand. If we're 650,000 short at the moment, why are we allowing foreign investors into the country? I'm talking about foreign ownership of our housing. Why is it called 'foreign investment'? It shouldn't be. All you are doing is driving up the price of housing. It's supply and demand. We see a lot of people who are foreigners bidding on this housing. Foreign students should not be allowed to buy housing when they're in Australia doing their university courses here. Why are they allowed to? Stop it.

The farming! Why are other countries—Canada, or even New Zealand and other countries—way ahead of us? They don't allow foreign ownership in their countries. Why are we allowing it here in Australia? I can't understand why, unless it means it's driving prices up so that people have to borrow more. Who makes profit out of that? There's the interest that the banks get, and there's another thing. Do you think state governments want to see their stamp duties go down? I don't think so. Follow the money. Who gets the money from all this? State governments and banks as well. Are we doing any favours for our own people? No, we're not. It was always the fact that people wanted their own home. Now they can't afford it. We see so many people living in poverty on our streets, under bridges, in tents, in cars—families and that type of thing.

The Labor Party say: 'We're giving you this wonderful opportunity. We're going to build 1.2 million homes over five years.' That was brought in two years ago. How many houses have been built? None! Not one! How much has it cost taxpayers so far? There's been up to $50 million in administrative costs and not one house built. Didn't you get a bargain out of that, people? A great bargain for you, isn't it? And they're still crowing like roosters about what they've done about for the Australian people, which is nothing whatsoever.

Then you talk about being able to build it. Between 2022 and 2023 you brought 737,000 migrants into the country. Only 51,605 of them had skills. You said, 'We're bringing them in for their skills.' Did you really? Only 51,605 had skills, and, of those, only 1,800 were from the construction industry. So how much of a lie was that? It's pie in the sky, a dream, that you're telling people out there. You mob couldn't lie straight in bed!

We have to change this. We can do it if you have the will. I don't know why you keep propping up foreign ownership of our housing and farmland. We had one farming property down in Tasmania that the Chinese bought for dairying: 18,000 hectares and about 90,000 head of cattle. They were actually milking it. I think they've gone bust now, but they were selling it up and getting $9 a litre for the milk. They have their minor companies, which write up the cost of everything. Then they don't make a profit, so they're not paying tax in this country either, and they have offshore accounts. You've been really smart, the both of you. How smart have you guys been over the years of your term in government?

You have no idea how people are struggling with the cost of living. All they want is to be able to put a roof over their head, and you are denying them the right of owning their own home. Stop foreign ownership of our housing and farmland.