Harry Triguboff demands migrants to plug property price bleeding

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Multi-billionaire apartment developer, “Highrise” Harry Triguboff, is unhappy about the projected decline in immigration because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has demanded the federal government open Australia’s international border and reboot mass immigration in order to “drive” apartment sales:

Apartment titan Harry Triguboff is calling on the federal government to allow the return of immigrants, saying foreign buyers are among his biggest purchasers.

The multi-billionaire, who develops about 2000 units a year on the eastern seaboard, says it is difficult to sell apartments without foreign purchasers, even though his apartment prices have dropped by one-fifth since the COVID-19 pandemic…

He said immigration was the main driver of apartment purchases and also stressed that ­people must return to working in their city and suburban offices.

…Apart from China, Mr Triguboff said he would also like to see immigration from Korea and India.

We truly live in the real estate version of a narco-state.

There’s a global virus pandemic taking place and all this guy can think about is his own $10.4 billion deep pockets. There’s not a shred of thought about the Australian public’s health or welfare, only Highrise Harry’s own narrow self-interest.

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Mass immigration led development is the ultimate Ponzi scheme, with property industry parasites like Highrise Harry privatising the gains while the costs are socialised on the existing population via funding the increasing infrastructure needs (water, power, transport, recreation facilities etc), as well as suffering the downsides via increasing congestion. Now Highrise Harry is extraordinarily cavalier about the virus risks as well, which do not seem to register at all.

A return to the broken economic model of the last cycle is precisely NOT what we need. It drove property prices higher marginalising youth. It corrupted our university standards and introduced deeply undemocratic CCP influences on campus. It corrupted our politics and jeopardised ANZUS. It drove down wages as poor foreign students and temporary migrants poured in. It lowered living standards across cities while enriching only a very narrow set of billionaires like highrise Harry.

A Ponzi scheme is no way to apply government policy for the good of the citizenry. What we need instead is to leave those migrants at home where they can develop their own economies and export our expertise to them there. As well as to restore some of our own productive capacity to lower imports and decouple from CCP aggression.

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The housing industry should meet the needs of Australians. Not the other way round.

About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.