‘Trainwreck’: One Nation forced to clarify housing plan
Pauline Hanson was forced to confirm how One Nation’s housing policy would work after multiple party members misspoke or failed to give key details in separate interviews.
According to the party platform, foreign homeowners in Australia will have two years to sell their property or have it taken back by the government.
Asked if the measure also applied to non-citizen permanent residents, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said they would also have to dispose of their property.
“Become an Australian citizen and that will solve the problem, right? Become an Australian citizen,” he told Sky News on Thursday night.
Mr Joyce later conducted a second interview on Sky and confirmed the party’s policy did not extend to permanent residents, after making several phone calls to confirm the platform.
“In further investigation and discussions with One Nation, no, we will not be evicting permanent residents from their homes,” he said.
The interview prompted party leader Pauline Hanson to confirm the measures would not affect permanent residence.
“If you are a temporary visa holder or a foreign national residing overseas, One Nation will give you two years to sell their property to an Australian,” he wrote on social media on Friday.
“One Nation will eliminate the ability of international students, non-permanent residents and non-Australian citizens to purchase property in Australia in the future.”
But confusion over the policy remained after One Nation senator Sean Bell was unable to elaborate on what would happen if homes were not sold within the two-year window and whether the government could still buy them back.
“That’s an excellent question, but what we’re saying is that it’s perfectly reasonable to expect homes in Australia to be given to Australian citizens,” he told 2GB Sydney radio.
The interview ended early after host Mark Levy said it “became a train wreck” and that the senator needed clarity on policy.
“You can’t go on the radio and say ‘we’re going to give people two years to dispose of their property’ and then not answer the question,” Mr. Levy said.
Deputy opposition leader Jane Hume said One Nation was struggling to explain how the housing scheme would work.
“I’m not entirely sure that even One Nation knows their policy here, but if their policy is to kick people out of their homes, I think that should ring alarm bells for millions of Australians because it’s such a new development,” he told Sky News.
“Even Barnaby Joyce said ‘this policy is formative.’
“What does this mean? This is a slogan. This is not a policy. There is no basis behind it.”
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