Updated ,first published
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has come forward to clarify her party’s policy on foreign ownership of residential property, after a “train wreck” interview on Thursday evening in which MP Barnaby Joyce had to re-record his answers.
However, even after Hanson’s intervention One Nation Senator Sean Bell, who had been sent to correct Joyce’s mistakes, was unable to explain the policy in a radio appearance which was interrupted so the MP could make his own phone call about the policy.
As explained by Hanson via a Facebook post on Friday morning, One Nation would try to force foreign owners to sell their residential properties within two years of the policy’s introduction. Permanent residents would not be forced to sell.
“Australian homes should be prioritized for Australians. One nation makes no apologies for putting Australians first,” Hanson wrote.
Appearing on 2GB on Friday morning, Bell repeatedly failed to say whether the foreign owners would have their property confiscated after the two-year period.
“That’s a very good question, but what we’re saying is, and it’s perfectly reasonable to expect that houses in Australia will go to Australian citizens,” Bell replied.
“It’s very simple. What happens is that, again, this chapter, it’s a fair question to ask,” Bell said, before host Mark Levy said: “So what’s the answer?”
“The answer is that this will be, this policy is one that is introduced and investigated.”
Levy said the interview was “turning into a train wreck” and that Bell should “go get some clarification before this gets worse”.
“You can’t come on the radio and say: ‘We’re going to give people two years to expropriate their property’ and then not answer the question … Go back and get an answer, and come back to me,” Levy said.
Thursday evening, Joyce appeared on Sky News The Bolt Report and was asked twice if permanent residents counted as foreign owners, and twice said they did.
Following the interview, Joyce made a series of phone calls before asking to re-record his answer to the question, eventually saying that permanent residents would not be prevented from owning residential property, or forced to sell their property.
“This policy is formative,” Joyce said, “but with further investigation and discussion with One Nation, no, we will not be evicting permanent residents,” Joyce said in his second response.
The interview was described as a “train wreck” by Liberal deputy leader Jane Hume, who said it was out of character for Joyce, a man she described as: “a bag of tricks”.
“It’s a slogan, it’s not a policy, it has no basis behind it. And the idea that they would have different messages about whether they would evict permanent residents, I find that strange, very disturbing,” Hume told Sky News.
During an earlier appearance on Sky with Bell, Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie slammed the policy, saying: “I could have had an opinion if I knew what One Nation’s opinion was”.
“It’s still a bit confusing because we know there are people living overseas who also own property here in Australia. I think it’s important that if you’re going to change those laws, you need to look at the existing provisions because otherwise we’re undermining contract law in this country.”
Asked if the party’s policy meant foreigners with property in Australia would have to sell their homes, Bell said: “So it will depend on the type of visa they are using”.
“We need to look at making sure that, you become an Australian citizen, or they need to make sure that the houses are available to Australia. We believe that the houses should benefit Australians first.”
Pressed again on which groups of non-citizens would be included, Bell told Sky News: “So, again, it will depend on what type of visa you have.”
“I really appreciate the tough questions, and I think it shows that we’re prepared to have these tough conversations,” Bell said, responding to a question about whether the party was ready to govern.
In comments responding to his Facebook post, Hanson said voters would thank Joyce for correcting the record, and “would rather see politicians come forward and do this than lie to avoid embarrassment”.
Foreign owners own about 40,000 residential properties across the country, according to the Australian Taxation Office. There were less than 11 million inhabitants in the country when the last census was taken in 2022.
Under current regulations, temporary residents and foreign nationals are prohibited from buying established homes in Australia, with few exceptions. They can buy new or “new” homes, established homes if they intend to redevelop, unplanned properties and vacant residential land.
These rules are in place until at least the end of the 2028-29 financial year.
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Nick Newling is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect through X or email address.
Emily Kaine is a national news blogger at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect through email address.
