Something the Australian government has never been very interested in.

Selling off assets to citizens of foreign countries has always been stupid. It is not foreign investment: it is investment for the foreigners. But, selling assets to citizens with connections to the Chinese Communist Party, a potential enemy of our country, should always been unthinkable.

There are rules for the foreign purchase of residential property: government approval must be sort prior to purchase; properties must be sold when an owner’s temporary visa expires; temporary visa holders cannot own more than one established property; Australian companies and trusts controlled by foreigners cannot own established properties; properties ostensibly bought to live in cannot be let out; new properties and redevelopments must be commenced within a set time frame.

All these rules have been broken, as well as false information given. Fines for offences range from $135, 000 plus 3 years jail for anyone buying a property without Foreign Investment Board approval, to $225,000 for anyone assisting illegal purchases.

The average fine levied by the ATO, has been $7,000 only! The same old kowtowing by a governments when it comes to foreigners, particularly the Chinese

But, hooray hooray, China itself has come to the rescue of our gormless and gutless government and its pathetic public service.

The latest FIRB report shows that Chinese investment in our residential market has plummeted. In 2016, the CCP put a brake on money flowing out of China because of suspected money laundering by rich Communists. Since then, up to 2018-19, there has been a big decline in residential investment from 26,253 to 3,986 properties.

It’s fortunate in this case that China takes criminal activity more seriously than our own ‘dollars at any price’ government. And it is a disgrace that the ATO, busy hounding small business and individuals for minor matters, turns a virtual blind eye to illegal foreign buyers who REDUCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG AUSTRALIANS

A Current Affair, two nights ago, reported that Chinese are buying up Sydney properties in recent weeks.

Reported that local investment has fallen much more than decline by Chinese.

Some properties remain vacant, only used when the Chinese owners come to town.

Chris,

It has been Chinese cash that has kept the Australian economy afloat for the past 30 years. That's why politicians, bureaucrats and business people have been populating the country with cashed up Chinese.

And they will use the same tactics for economic recovery in the wake of the Wuhan Bat Soup Virus pandemic.

I suspect from the odd bits that I hear that there is a separate Chinese
property market operating in Australia.
It is based on trust. The buyer from China gets a local Chinese resident
to purchase the property from a Chinese owned company and pays for it in China.
The local holds it for them indefinitely.
The local works as his agent while pretending to own the property.
There is little or no risk as the relatives in China could get a visit
if there was a problem.
It would be interesting to see how many students own property in Australia
and are living in the property.

What I never seem to hear is, how many Australian properties are sold to others ? Are the Chinese really the only foreigners buying here ?
Or, are the Chinese the preferred i.e. highest bidding buyers ? What taxes are there for Australians who sell to foreigners ? Don't Australians buy Australian properties ? Obviously, it's money offered that dictates who is selling to whom but shouldn't there be a market value from an Australian bench mark & everything above that benchmark is absorbed by Tax ? If the Chinese are permitted to out-bid any Australian buyers then why bother with the many other stifling regulations in the first place ! Do Australians want to build a Nation or just live in one paid for by a few, to a few ?

It's hard to know because there is confusion about what is foreign 'investment' (helping Australia) and what is merely of help to foreign buyers, some of whom don't leave a cent in Australia (think China shipping agricultural products directly to China within paying anything into our economy).

The U.S is the highest actual investor in a list of twenty, with China ninth.

However, it has to be remembered that only China is an economic and military threat to Australia. And not one of the other countries listed bullies or threatens us. Trade with China is one thing; selling bits of our country off to them should be a no-no.

We should be talking less about a third of our trade with with a Communist dictatorship, and concentrating on the two thirds with democratic, non-threatening countries whose ethics and ways of doing busines s are like our own.