Much more to the teal drive than politics: Robert Gottliebsen

The teal women who swept Scott Morrison from power. Picture: Supplied

The teal drive to unseat high ranking Coalition politicians in last week’s election is not simply a sign of political change. It is it is linked to a change in the attitudes of financially secure people in their fifties and early sixties that it not confined to politics.

Similar forces are erupting in the residential property market and, like the teal movement, in many cases the societal change is being driven by females. It is clear that something is happening in our society that is different from anything we have experienced in recent generations.

Like all fundamental changes it will have many aspects so if you are operating an enterprise you need to map how the revolution impacts your customer base. I invite my readers to come on my exploration journey and add their own experiences to what I have discovered.

We can all start at the same place – the mobilisation of a female inspired voting block driven by a demand for better integrity among our politicians and climate change.

Initially, like everyone else, I saw the teal movement as a single event. But then I received a call from Australia’s largest apartment owner and developer Harry Triguboff to alert me to an unprecedented development in his Meriton operation.

For the first time, many Meriton investors were selling Sydney apartments even though rents were rising and the outlook was good. They were not under any financial pressure.

In Melbourne, we have been seeing a similar phenomenon which we all put down to fear of higher interest rates by negatively geared investors and brutal attack on landlords by the Victorian government in the name if protecting tenants.

The Victorian government ignored the submissions by the Australian Landlords Association and legislated to give rights to tenants that make the business of renting property incredibly risky. Queensland is adopting the same legislation. In both states rents need to rise substantially to cover the risks and costs imposed by the legislation.

For countless decades families all around Australia invested in residential real estate using negative gearing and it has been a highly successful exercise greatly enriching family wealth. But reducing annual taxable income only makes sense if your property rises in value. Higher interest rates threaten that outcome And the costs involved in complying with the anti-landlord legislation mean that Victorians are selling rental properties to owner-occupiers. .

But Sydney is different. NSW has not adopted anti landlord legislation.

Its largest apartment builder, Meriton, is unique in Australia because it operates a massive apartment rental business. A great many financial planners have advised their clients to invest in Meriton rental apartments to gain exposure to the residential market knowing the dwellings will be managed for them. But Meriton activities are largely confined to Sydney, plus Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Accordingly, the current Sydney selling is part of a new attitude to life among many financially secure 50 and 60 year Australians that also exists in Melbourne but was obscured by the Victorian anti landlord legislation.

A significant portion of affluent people in their 50s (sometimes early 60s) are now saying: “We have worked really hard in our lifetime, educated our children and are now comfortable. It’s time to live much more on our savings rather than wait until we are 65 or older”.

This developing attitude to life is being reflected in many actions. Sometimes people downsize their city accommodation often moving to regional areas or Queensland, where the market in areas impacted by southern buying is now strong.

Others make their residence former holiday homes which they update. There are many variations and both the ALP and the Coalition promised to allow some of the cash freed by downsizing to be invested in superannuation.

Part of this new attitude to life is the questioning of investment properties. The combination of downsizing and property investment selling means that 55 year olds can live very comfortably for the next 15 years or longer without the need for high pressure work. Now with a feeling of independence the generation aged in or approaching their 50s looks at the political class and is appalled at their behaviour.

They have embraced climate change and were again appalled at the coalition‘s climate games. They were also disgusted at Scott Morrison’s decimation of former Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate which was based on factual errors. Other party members did not bring him into line. There was something wrong that needed to be addressed but, again, these views were only party of the societal change.

The women in the family and many males have simply had enough of the pressures of careers in large corporations or sometimes in the family business.

This new phenomenon will mean that if the ALP gets it wrong and our economy suffers they will be very bitter because they may have to go back to more active work.

But if we go along a smooth course it means that a large amount of Australian talent that would otherwise generate wealth for the community will be missing. This was always expected in 10 years time but it’s now going to come much earlier.

It’s a great opportunity for educated and motivated young people.