Prime Minster Anthony Albanese has defended his decision to buy a multimillion-dollar house on the NSW Central Coast as he faced questions over whether it is a “good look” amid Australia’s .
It emerged on Tuesday that Albanese bought the four-bedroom, three-bathroom property on the Copacabana clifftop with “uninterrupted ocean and Sydney skyline views from all levels”, according to the real estate listing.
Albanese paid $4.3 million for the home, according to media reports. That’s about $350,000 less than its last recorded sale price in 2021.
The listing shows the property was sold in late September. Albanese told media on Tuesday he and were yet to settle on the sale, with Sydney’s 2GB radio reporting that it is set to happen later this month.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s new $4.3 million house on the NSW Central Coast. Credit: realestate.com.au
Albanese said the location had been determined by his future wife’s ties to the area as a “proud Coasty” and was a natural step ahead of their wedding.
“There are three generations of Haydens on the coast there and when your relationship changes, your life changes and you make decisions,” he told reporters while in Brisbane on Tuesday.
In response to questions about whether the high price tag was a “good look” during the cost of living crisis, Albanese acknowledged his privileged financial position.
“Of course, I am much better off as prime minister, I earn a good income. I understand I have been fortunate,” he said.
“I also know what it is like to struggle. My mum lived in the one public housing that she was born in for all of her 65 years.
“I know what it is like which is why I want to help all Australians into a home, whether it be public homes or private rentals, or home ownership.”
Albanese also denied the purchase was part of his retirement plan, saying he planned to be in his current job “for a very long period of time”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and partner Jodie Haydon announced their engagement earlier this year. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Albanese lived in Marrickville in Syndey’s inner-west before he won the 2022 federal election and moved to The Lodge.
He also has an investment property in neighbouring Dulwich Hill, which attracted media attention earlier this year after it emerged he was as he prepared to sell the property.
That property is currently on the market for $1.85 million, and Albanese confirmed the proceeds would go towards the new home.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the new house purchase was “a matter for the prime minister”, and wished Albanese and Haydon well.
But Dutton said he was worried about Australians struggling to afford their mortgage repayments.
“People have had 12 interest rate increases, and interest rates should come back, as they’re doing in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and New Zealand,” Dutton said.
“But because of Mr Albanese’s bad economic management, we’re seeing inflation remain higher here and therefore, interest rates remain higher as well.”
The Reserve Bank of Australia started hiking interest rates in May 2022 with the aim of returning inflation to its 2 to 3 per cent target band, and the latest data .
Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather accused “property investor politicians”, including Albanese, of making policy decisions that benefited themselves instead of addressing the housing crisis affecting millions of Australians.
“Labor and the Liberals have created a housing system where a property investor can buy a beachfront home for $4.3 million while millions struggle to even find an affordable rental, let alone buy a house of their own,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“Millions of people are in desperate need right now, but the reality is we’ve got a Labor government with a property investor Prime Minister who refuses to make any changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, which is the massive tax handouts to property investors denying millions of renters the chance to buy a home.”
