Anthony Albanese has lashed out over attacks on his multimillion-dollar property holdings, accusing the Liberal Party of dragging “family” and wife Jodie Haydon into the debate over negative gearing.
The Prime Minister came under renewed pressure over how he used negative gearing to reduce tax and build wealth through property, becoming visibly frustrated during question time and calling Liberal MP Ben Small “a moron”.
The clash intensified after Liberal MP Simon Kennedy challenged him over his property history.
“My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister bought a property in his 20s. He claimed the CGT discount. He negatively geared his way to a $4.3 million property in Copacabana,’’ Mr Kennedy asked.
“Why are younger Australians being denied these very same opportunities the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues continue to benefit from?”
Labor’s plan to restrict negative gearing to newly built homes would not affect existing investors such as Mr Albanese, who could still negatively gear established properties if eligible.
In response, Mr Albanese said he had privately discussed the issue with Opposition leader Angus Taylor after similar questions were raised the previous day.
“Now I wonder why the member for Cook (Simon Kennedy), rather than my opposite (Angus Taylor), asked that question. I wonder why?,’’ Mr Albanese said.
“Because yesterday, when a similar question was asked, and I said to the Leader of the opposition that, you know, we have had discussions.
“We have had discussions as well about people’s families and being raised in this place.”
As the argument escalated, Mr Taylor interjected, “You’re pulling up the ladder!”
Mr Albanese then defended his record, saying the Coalition had distorted the facts.
“Because what I did was buy a house in Marrickville and lived in it,’’ Mr Albanese said.
“And what I’ve done now, because I have publicly declared, got married last November, Jodie and I note that she is removed from the equation. Jodie and I have chosen to buy a home for ourselves down the track.
“That is what has happened. All declared, all declared. All declared.”
He said his first home was later where he and his former wife raised their son, and argued the family home should be off limits in political attacks.
“The family home is sacrosanct to me and to everyone else and to everyone else, and that’s why we want more people to own a family home,” he said.
The controversy began a day earlier when Mr Kennedy first raised the Copacabana property in parliament.
“The Prime Minister has confirmed he has used negative gearing and the CGT discount,’’ Mr Kennedy said.
“And the Prime Minister, I note, has bought a $4 million property in Copacabana. So why is the prime minister stopping the next generation of Australians from using the very opportunities he has personally benefited from?”
Mr Albanese rejected the criticism and said his own experience of buying a home shaped his approach.
“I have had access to home ownership, and I had it in my 20s,’’ he said.
“And I had it because my mother, who lived in the one public housing, said to me, ‘When you get a chance in life, own your own home’, it was drilled into me.
“I’m proud that I wasn’t born to rule.
“I’m proud that I work hard. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.”
Mr Kennedy later accused the Prime Minister of hypocrisy, saying younger Australians were being squeezed while ministers kept their own tax advantages.
“The Prime Minister says this debate is personal. It is personal — for millions of young Australians who now face higher taxes, higher rents and higher house prices than the generation making these decisions,” Mr Kennedy said.
“This debate is about the Prime Minister’s decisions, the only person who has mentioned his wives or family in this debate is him”.
Mr Albanese has acknowledged using negative gearing “in the past” to minimise tax, but suggested he may not be using it now.
“Oh, look, I have in the past, absolutely,’’ Mr Albanese replied when asked if he negatively gears properties.
“But all my things are declared in the normal way. I’m subject to all of that, but in a transparent way.”
Public disclosures show he has a mortgage with Ms Haydon over his $4 million Central Coast home and owns a Marrickville property worth about $3 million outright, which he rents out. He also rents out the Copacabana home. Public records suggest the Copacabana property earns about $1400 a week, or roughly $72,800 a year before tax and expenses, while the Marrickville home brings in about $1300 a week. As Prime Minister, he lives rent-free at The Lodge in Canberra, as is standard for the office.
Mr Albanese’s property journey began in 1990 when he bought his first home in Marrickville for $146,000. He later bought a Federation bungalow in Marrickville in 2006 for $997,500 and a property in Dulwich Hill in 2015 for $1.175 million. Before his divorce, he also owned another Marrickville property, which sold for $2.25 million in July 2021.
