Steve Moran Real Estate

Archive for the ‘Foreign Investment’ Category

Pauline Hansen's Home For Sale

Pauline Hanson has portrayed herself as a victim of political correctness following the furore over her refusal to sell her home to a Muslim.

Ms Hanson this afternoon hit back at Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Commission for saying she would be breaking the law if she knocked back a potential buyer on the grounds of their race or religion.

“I’m the one who decides if I want to put my signature on my contract, it’s my right I will decide whether I want to sell my land to a certain person on that contract or not,” the former One Nation leader told Fairfax Radio 4BC.

Ms Hanson said some of her critics were “a bunch of hypocrites” and they should respect the fact people still had the hard-won right to free speech.

“Little by little we’re losing our rights in this country,” she said.

“Because I’ve voiced my opinion I’m sort of jumped on and been howled down, ‘My god, you can’t say that’.

“Political correctness has taken over our lives if we don’t have a right to have an opinion.”

Ms Hanson, who is selling her home in Coleyville, south-west of Brisbane, ahead of her temporary relocation to Britain, ignited the latest controversy by telling a television station she would not accept any offers from Islamic buyers.

“Because I don’t believe that they are compatible with our way of life, our culture,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program. Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

The federal government’s decision to reinstate the foreign investment guidelines has been welcomed by Australia’s real estate industry body.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) president David Airey yesterday said the government’s backflip on foreign investment guidelines was exactly what Australia needed.

Late last week, the government announced that foreign investors may only purchase new housing stock and temporary residents may only purchase existing housing for use while they reside in Australia.

“We support measures that facilitate access for overseas investors to participate in the property market, however it has come to our attention that since 2008, the changes were not being effectively policed by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB),” Mr Airey said.

REIA undertook a survey which showed that agents, particularly in Melbourne, were suspicious of the number of foreign entrants into the market place and whether those entrants were strictly adhering to the guidelines.

“We are looking forward to working with the government to achieve an outcome that meets the expectations of the Australian community and does not place undue stress on housing affordability in Australia,” Mr Airey said.