Victoria parliament teeming with homeowners and landlords including Liberal MP with 14 rentals
The housing crisis does not appear to be impacting Victorian MPs, with parliament full of homeowners, landlords, and even property moguls, prompting experts to warn that a deepening class divide could alienate voters.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Victorian parliament is teeming with homeowners, landlords, and even property moguls, prompting experts to warn that a deepening class divide could alienate voters.
Analysis of the annual Victorian Parliamentary Register of Interests has revealed that just five out of the 128 members of the Victorian parliament do not own at least one property.
More than half own multiple properties, including a primary residence and a second holiday home or parcel of farmland.
Meanwhile more than 40 per cent declared they were landlords receiving rental income, putting them in the top 20 per cent of homeowners in the country.
In comparison, 2021 Census data shows just 66 per cent of Australians own a home, this drops to 36 per cent for voters aged 25-29.
Liberal David Hodgett was the leader of the pack with 14 rental properties.
He had an interest in 21 properties in total across Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, and Queensland.
Member for Caulfield David Southwick was receiving rental income from five properties but had an interest in 16 properties, including his primary residence.
Labor’s Tourism Minister Steve Dimopoulos lodged ownership in six properties, including four leased properties in Melbourne, Cairns, and South Australia.
Other landlord MPs with multiple properties rented out included: Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Transport Infrastructure Danny Pearson, Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny, and member for Clarinda Meng Heang Tak, who had four rentals in and around his electorate.
Upper house government whip Lee Tarlamis had three rental properties in Cowes, South Melbourne, and Noble Park. Notably, Greens MPs or independents were the least likely to own property, including Greens MP for Melbourne’s northeast Aiv Puglielli and his upper house colleague Anasina Gray-Barberio.
Premier Jacinta Allan revealed she has her primary residence near Bendigo, but also owns a property in Melbourne CBD, which she rents out to a permanent tenant. Labor Deputy Leader Ben Carroll registered three properties, including two rentals in Moonee Ponds.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin received rental income for at least two properties in Officer and Carrum Downs.
He also owned land in Runaway Bay in Queensland and Warragul in country Victoria.
Unsurprisingly, an array of country politicians, including National Party MPs, had a high ownership of primary producing land.
Redbridge Group Director Kos Samaras said polls have consistently shown that home ownership is a real issue for voters and that the class divide between voters and politicians is deepening.
“It is a problem that the entire political class has created for itself, where the majority of millennial and Gen Z voters, whether in urban, outer urban, diverse, or non-diverse backgrounds, view the political class as separate from them,” he said.
“They are simply not part of their tribe, and we will see a further fragmentation of voting behaviour in the future.”
“Most voters are living week to week to either pay their mortgage or rent, and coupled with over 85 per cent of people we survey, think that young people in the next generation will not be able to buy a home without the help of wealthy parents.”
Mr Samaras added that it was likely that politicians could justify having one additional property as it was “in line with community expectations,” but he warned that multiple second homes were “not a good look.”
One property-owning MP, who declined to be named, pointed out that MPs with the most properties could be viewed as the most highly taxed members of parliament under the Labor government with all liable to having to pay extra in land taxes and higher rates under the new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF).
The registered interests were from July 2024 to January 31, 2025.
Originally published as Victoria parliament teeming with homeowners and landlords including Liberal MP with 14 rentals
Push for Allan, Andrews to face music over Comm Games fiasco
Jacinta Allan and Daniel Andrews should be hauled before parliament to answer questions about Victoria’s $600m Commonwealth Games disaster, a parliamentary committee has recommended.
Jacinta Allan says SRL will be built with or without Peter Dutton
Jacinta Allan has vowed to push ahead with Suburban Rail Loop, but can’t say where the Commonwealth’s share of funding would come from if Peter Dutton is elected PM.