Anthony Albanese’s political judgment on a cliff edge after $4.3m property buy
Anthony Albanese has been forced to deny he is contemplating life after politics just months before an election campaign, after paying $4.3m for a clifftop house on the NSW central coast where he will live with future wife Jodie Haydon.
Anthony Albanese has been forced to deny he is contemplating life after politics just months before an election campaign, after paying $4.3m for a clifftop house on the NSW central coast where he will live with future wife Jodie Haydon when it is time for them to vacate the Lodge.
The Prime Minister said he was “planning to be in my current job for a very long period of time”, after Peter Dutton congratulated him on the purchase by declaring Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon were “obviously planning for the next stage of life post-politics”.
A Labor MP said the purchase was “not a great look” for Mr Albanese, who will have to fight hard to hold on to government at the election with his personal standing suffering as Labor fell behind the Coalition on this week’s Newspoll.
Mr Albanese plans on initially leasing out the property with views over Copacabana Beach given his housing is covered by the taxpayer while he is in the nation’s top job, with estimates he will pocket between $2000 and $2500 a week in rental income.
The four-bedroom house on a nearly 800sqm block is still active on Airbnb, with neighbour Catherine Young declaring she was “absolutely shocked” the Labor Left heavyweight bought into the affluent suburb.
With Labor facing electoral pressure over cost-of-living and the price of housing, the Greens seized on the revelations of Mr Albanese’s purchase and labelled the Labor leader a property investor. Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather said: “Labor and the Liberals have created a housing system where a property investor can buy a $4.3m beachfront home, while millions can’t even find an affordable rental, let alone buy a house of their own. Yet Labor still want to give property investors $176bn in tax handouts.”
Mr Albanese and Jim Chalmers have faced growing calls from Labor ranks to consider changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, with several MPs backing such a policy after revelations the Treasurer’s department was undertaking modelling on the matter.
Responding to claims the purchase was a bad look in a cost-of-living crisis, Mr Albanese, who earns more than $600,000 a year, said he knew “what it is like to struggle”, referring to his upbringing in public housing in Sydney’s Camperdown.
“I am much better off as Prime Minister. I earn a good income. I understand that,” he said.
Mr Albanese suggested he had bought the house to prepare for married life with Ms Haydon, to whom he proposed in February. The wedding is expected to come after a federal election to be held by May next year.
“Jodie and I are getting married, as is known, and I’m pleased about that,” Mr Albanese said.
“And Jodie’s a Coastie. She’s a proud Coastie … when your relationship changes, your life changes and you make decisions.”
Mr Albanese said the sale of his Dulwich Hill investment townhouse in his Sydney electorate of Grayndler – advertised for $1.85m – would contribute to the new property. However, the Labor leader made the last-minute decision to pull it from the market earlier this month for unspecified reasons.
Marketing agent Shad Hassen of The Agency Inner West said on Tuesday morning the property was still on the market.
Pollster and former Labor strategist Kos Samaras said Mr Albanese’s purchase would reaffirm people’s prejudices about politicians, with professional adults taking three decades to save up for a house deposit in Sydney. “People think all politicians do this, that they have the capital and income to purchase such homes,” he said.
Mr Samaras said Mr Albanese’s comments about knowing what it was to struggle could cut through to constituents, if the Prime Minister was able to demonstrate he was not “pulling the ladder up after him”.
“You’ve got to show empathy, you’ve got to actually convince people you care,” he said.
“At the moment, telling people about your background and convincing them you actually (care) … is a whole different ballgame.”
McGrath Real Estate founder and chief executive John McGrath said Mr Albanese had bagged a bargain compared with what he would pay for a similar property in Sydney’s trophy markets, which would go for more than $20m. “The central coast is a beautiful area, with beautiful lakes and beaches and it’s 60 minutes from Sydney,” said Mr McGrath, whose agency negotiated the deal with the Prime Minister.
The two-storey, architecturally designed house – which sold in 2021 for $4.65m – has uninterrupted ocean and Sydney skyline views. The top floor features timber-lined cathedral ceilings, a centralised entertaining area and an open-plan living and dining space. Downstairs, there’s a guest room and an additional north facing entertaining area. The house falls within the marginal Labor-held electorate of Robertson.
Ms Young said while she was “absolutely shocked” to hear the Prime Minister could be moving in next door, locals would likely be nonplussed about his arrival.
“One of the best things about Copa is that you can be walking along the beach and everybody looks exactly the same,” said Ms Young, who has lived in her house for about 20 years. “You cannot tell who’s living in the mansions and who’s living in the two-bedroom little apartments behind the shops or who’s living in just your average beach house.”
Ms Young said there had “been a lot of movement” in the owners of Mr Albanese’s house over the past 15 years. “The movement’s been so consistent through there that we’ve only ever said hello to the neighbours and most of them have used them for holiday houses and B&Bs or family have come up to use it … so no consistent neighbours for 15 years,” she said.
Mr Dutton would not criticise Mr Albanese’s purchase and only said that he wished the Prime Minister and Ms Haydon well.
“They’re obviously planning for the next stage of their life post politics,” he said.
Mr Samaras said it was telling that the Coalition had refused to criticise Mr Albanese. “It’s not surprising, they’ve probably got the same problem on their side,” he said. “They don’t want to throw very large stones in a parliament made of glass.”
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