Australia’s property boom making the nation poorer

Absolute shocker’: Anger as Andrews kills Commonwealth Games
Gus McCubbing, Patrick Durkin, Zoe Samios and Hans van Leeuwen
Updated Jul 18, 2023
https://www.afr.com/companies/sport...ews-scraps-commonwealth-games-20230718-p5dp3f

Premier Daniel Andrews has damaged Victoria’s reputation as a destination for global events, and raised questions about his judgment with his shock decision to abandon the 2026 Commonwealth Games, sports administrators and business leaders said.

Mr Andrews said cancelling the Games was “not a difficult decision” because the expected cost of the 12-day event that his government had planned to host in regional hubs, including Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong and Shepparton, had blown out from the $2.6 billion originally budgeted for, to $7 billion or more......

Victoria has already pressed pause on major projects like the Airport Rail and hit business and property investors with $8.6 billion in levies, as the state’s net debt is forecast to reach $171.4 billion by June 2027.

“The Games will not proceed in Victoria in 2026. I will not take money out of the hospitals and schools to fund an event that is three times the cost as estimated and budgeted for last year,” Mr Andrews said.......

“I’ve made a lot of very difficult decisions in this job – this is not one of them. Frankly, $6 to $7 billion for a 12-day sporting event ... we are not doing that. That does not represent value for money, that is all cost and no benefit.”.....

Victoria is broke’
Liberal Senator Jane Hume said Victoria had become a “failed state”, while MP Dan Tehan said the cancellation would make it difficult for any other city or jurisdiction to pick up the event.

“This is a great shame. It has embarrassed Victoria on the world stage and it has left the future of the Commonwealth Games in a very precarious position,” Mr Tehan told the Financial Review.......

Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto said cancelling the Games was a “massive humiliation” for the state.

“Victoria is broke and Victorians continue to be punished by a tired, corrupt and incompetent government,” he said.

Former state premier Denis Napthine accused Mr Andrews of “conning” regional Victorians by championing the Commonwealth Games before last year’s election and then pulling the pin.

Ai Group Victorian head Tim Piper said while pulling the pin was the “right decision” from a cost perspective, it would damage the state’s reputation.

“The decision reinforces the perception and reality that Victoria is an increasingly difficult place to do business,” he said......
 
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Opinion

Daniel Andrews’ Commonwealth Games folly stupid from start
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games was a folly from the very outset but Andrews has now made a bad decision much worse.

Patrick Durkin BOSS Deputy editor Jul 18, 2023
https://www.afr.com/companies/sport...games-folly-stupid-from-start-20230718-p5dp2v

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games was a monumental folly from the very outset, but Andrews has now made a bad decision much worse.

In the midst of the pandemic, in early 2022, as the state was already hurtling toward record debt, Andrews calculated that hosting the Games that no one else wanted, might help get him over the November 2022 election line.

Andrews revealed his political colours at that time, spending on everything from $1 billion to bring back the State Electricity Commission, $15 million to bail out Netball Australia to fishing rods for school kids across the state.

That is before touching on the elephant in Melbourne, Andrews’ $125 billion Suburban Rail Loop – which independent experts say never stacked up – but Andrews refuses to put on the table, despite pausing the Airport Rail.

Cancelling the Games 18 months on after such a bad error of judgment is now an unmitigated disaster.

It’s a disaster for Victoria’s reputation as the host of major events and the supposed sporting capital of the world.

The story is already making headlines across the world.

It’s a disaster for the regions which were set to benefit from tourism and infrastructure even though Andrews says much of the infrastructure will eventually go ahead.

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Cody Simpson and Emma McKeon at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Getty

It’s another disaster for taxpayers. Andrews on Tuesday refused to speculate on a possible massive damages bill which legal experts have said Brisbane would face if the Olympics were cancelled.

Andrews is well aware of that risk after being hit with costs after scrapping the Formula One F1 GP in 2020 and as the Premier who spent $1.1 billion not to build the East West Link road.

It’s also a disaster for the future of the Commonwealth Games which now faces an existential crisis. Will any other city want to host them at this stage? If not, is their future even secure?

Perhaps most heartbreaking, it’s a disaster for hundreds of young Australian athletes aspiring to represent their country and use it as a stepping stone to the 2032 Olympics.

President of Volleyball Australia Craig Carracher is among those to call it “a disgrace”.

Andrews says the costs have tripled from $2.6 billion committed in the 2022 budget to as much as $7 billion, and it would be irresponsible to proceed.

But that was obvious from the very start. Melbourne spent $2.9 billion on the Commonwealth Games in 2006. Allowing an average of 5 per cent a year for inflation, it was obvious the event would have cost more than $6 billion.

It’s also symptomatic of a government which makes big announcements by press release. The $1 billion announced for the SEC or $11 billion for the Suburban Rail Loop are all going to cost much more than originally promised. But the political sugar hit comes with the announcement.

Budget was first sign of trouble

Political insiders smelt a rat when there was no new money for the Games in the May state budget. It most likely became doomed when the PM refused to give Andrews any money in the federal budget for the Games.

The PM knows there is no political capital in bailing out Victoria.

The political question is how much damage will be done to Andrews by the decision. Polling showed that Victorians were never very impressed by the Games to begin with, especially with Brisbane hosting the Olympics.

Amidst a cost of living crisis, Andrews’ mastery of a political message means that he will convince many it is the right decision and his government may only take a short-term, direct political hit.

But it does feel like the longer-term follies of his government are finally coming home to roost. Andrews’ words - he is not here to apologise but takes full responsibility - are starting to wear thin even with supporters.

Andrews’ popular legacy of a big build, progressive social policy and getting the state through COVID-19, now increasingly risk being tainted by leaving the state with crippling debt.

It is increasingly hard to see the state Labor government being granted a fourth term in 2026 but by that time Andrews will be long gone with his successor Jacinta Allan or the Liberals left to clean up the mess. And of course, the Victorian people who will suffer.
 
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themickey said:
In the midst of the pandemic, in early 2022, as the state was already hurtling toward record debt, Andrews calculated that hosting the Games that no one else wanted, might help get him over the November 2022 election line.
Andrews revealed his political colours at that time, spending on everything from $1 billion to bring back the State Electricity Commission, $15 million to bail out Netball Australia to fishing rods for school kids across the state.
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Aaaahhh, there's nothing like a little bit of pork barrelling to get yourself re elected, then renege on your promises.
 

Rich Chinese Eye Australia Homes as 700,000 to Leave by 2025
Selina Xu Wed, 19 July 2023
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Rich Chinese Eye Australia Homes as 700,000 to Leave by 2025

(Bloomberg) -- Australia is the top overseas destination for Chinese property hunters in the first half of this year, according to real estate firm Juwai IQI’s latest ranking.

Chinese appetite for property Down Under topped their interest in other popular markets like Canada, the UK and the US, the report said, based on the number of buyer inquiries received on the platform.

The United Arab Emirates, which ranked 13th in 2021, shot up to eighth place. Germany fell out of the top 10, which included four Southeast Asian countries.

Meanwhile, Chinese demand is likely to grow as international travel resumes, according to Kashif Ansari, group chief executive officer and co-founder of Juwai IQI. A significant portion of real estate transactions are still dependent on buyers being able to go abroad, though outbound travel has yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels due to limited airline capacity and expensive fares, he said.

A sustained exodus over the next few years will likely continue to drive Chinese property investments abroad. About 712,000 people from the country will migrate to the US, Canada and Australia from 2023 to 2025, the report estimated.

President Xi Jinping’s push for “common prosperity” means China’s wealthy have been flocking to more welcoming places like Singapore or setting up a backup plan, while three years of harsh Covid Zero restrictions have added to reasons to relocate. Capital flight from the mainland could reach $150 billion this year, as more people park their money abroad for fear of additional measures at home.

While Western countries have long been a mecca for Chinese immigrants, Southeast Asia has emerged as a hotspot for high-net-worth Chinese individuals, with governments rolling out a plethora of ‘golden visa’ programs that fast-track investors and professionals to residency.

Chinese citizens are the biggest source of demand for golden visa programs across the globe, which can allow people to stay as long as 20 years.

In 2021, Chinese accounted for 46% of approved applicants in two of the most popular programs: Greece and Australia. They made up 31% of approvals for Portugal.
 
ASIC accused of treating parliament with contempt
Ronald Mizen Senior reporter Jul 19, 2023
https://www.afr.com/politics/federa...ting-parliament-with-contempt-20230719-p5dpik

The corporate watchdog is being accused of treating parliament with contempt after it failed to hand over a clutch of investigation files to Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones, despite an order from the Senate.

The fiery criticism is the latest salvo in a stand-off between the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and a Senate inquiry into the watchdog, which is now drawing cabinet ministers into the fray......

......The inquiry into ASIC was largely the result of a report published last year by economist John Adams, which found ASIC investigated fewer than 1 per cent of complaints received in the preceding years.
 
Property Residential Property development
Over 20,000 home owners hit by Toplace collapse
Campbell Kwan Commercial property reporter Jul 19, 2023
https://www.afr.com/property/reside...d-creditor-claims-to-hit-200m-20230719-p5dphl

More than 20,000 homeowners across 20 buildings could be affected by the beleaguered Sydney developer Jean Nassif’s Toplace Group, administrators told the first creditors’ meeting on Wednesday.

The administrators, DVT Group’s Antony Resnick and Suelen McCallum, said they were investigating assets and liabilities “well in excess of $1 billion”. The number of assets and liabilities under scrutiny has grown since Toplace’s building arm went into voluntary administration at the start of July, with 64 more subsidiaries going under over the past fortnight.

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Toplace’s founder and sole director Jean Nassif is on the run overseas. Instagram

“The voluntary administration of Toplace may well be among one of the largest property administrations in Australia,” Ms McCallum said.

Toplace had accumulated a $1.5 billion portfolio of development sites and other real estate investments before its collapse. The company is also behind defective apartments such as the Vicinity complex, which has been flagged as being at risk of collapse and requires repairs costing up to $50 million.

Mr Resnick said Toplace potentially owed secured creditors around $200 million.

The administrators said there were about 500 secure and unsecured creditors across 75 entities, including bank and non-bank lenders. Contractors and employees are also caught up in the collapse of what was once one of Sydney’s biggest private developers.

The number of creditors could be higher as the administrators were still receiving new claims on Wednesday.

The creditors’ meeting was conducted to a full room, with more than 60 other participants attending the meeting online.

Mr Nassif, meanwhile, is still overseas. He is wanted by NSW police on an outstanding warrant over alleged fraud-related offences.

Mr Resnick said it was unlikely that Toplace’s administration would reach a decision within the typical six weeks, due to the scale of the collapse. The process was expected to take months instead.

“The one thing that is certain is there are significant assets and significant liabilities in the group, and we’re mindful of the fact that there are a lot of home owners ... as a result of the collapse of businesses,” he said.

Alongside the dozens of Toplace companies now in administration, receivers have taken charge of a number of entities on behalf of secured lenders. They include KordaMentha being appointed in March as receivers and managers of 51 OCHR and JKN Finance, the owners and developers of Toplace’s troubled five-tower Skyview project on Old Castle Hill Road in Castle Hill, Sydney.
 
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themickey said:
Toplace’s founder and sole director Jean Nassif is on the run overseas. Instagram

“The voluntary administration of Toplace may well be among one of the largest property administrations in Australia,” Ms McCallum said.
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Yaaaaaawnnnn, nothing to see here, just the usual bs which is the housing fiasco in Australia spiralling out of control due to government inaction.
 
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