Treasurer Joe Hockeys personal wealth has come under the spotlight after his comments that poor people dont drive cars led to accusations that he is a cigar-chomping Foghorn Leghorn who is out of touch with Australians. Mr Hockey and his millionaire banker wife Melissa Babbage, own four properties between them, including a five-bedroom harbourside family home in Hunters Hill, one of Sydneys wealthiest harbourside suburbs, believed to be worth more than $5 million, which they bought for $3.5 million in 2004. Their $10 million property portfolio also includes a 200 hectare cattle farm in Queensland and a beautiful six-bedroom coastal retreat with 180-degree views of the beach in Stanwell Park, an hour south of Sydney. Mr Hockeys statement of registrable interests, made in 2010, also lists him as joint owner of a property in the prestigious Canberra suburb of Forrest.Mr Hockey has come under fire after remarking yesterday that rich people spend more on fuel than poor households because poor people dont have cars or dont drive far. The poorest people either dont have cars or actually dont drive very far in many cases, he told ABC Radio in Brisbane. Mr Hockey has previously insisted that while his opponents might run the wealthy line, the money really belongs to his wife, who until 2011, worked as head of the foreign exchange and global finance division of Deutsche Bank. But Mr Hockeys life hasnt been one you would typically associate with struggle. The treasurer, who was pictured enjoying a cigar outside parliament after announcing his federal budget in May, attended the elite St Aloysius College in Milsons Point. When he left home for university, he attended one of the countrys most expensive university residences, St Johns College at the University of Sydney, a popular institution for Sydneys private school educated children. It was at Sydney University that he got his start in politics, elected as the president of the Student Representative Council. In his statement of registrable interests of interests in 2010 Mr Hockey lists that he is a patron of two north shore golf clubs, a member of the North Shore Historical Society and a member of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, among other charitable, sporting and cultural groups.Mr Hockeys comments about the driving habits of poor came as the government wants to reintroduce twice-yearly indexation of the fuel excise, a budget measure opposed by both Labor and the Greens who say it will hit low-income families the hardest. The comment drew a rebuke from Labor leader Bill Shorten and some welfare groups. Are you serious, Joe Hockey? Are you really the cigar chomping, Foghorn Leghorn of Australian politics where youre saying that poor people dont drive cars? Mr Shorten told reporters in Perth. Mr Hockey today dismissed Labor criticism that he was out of touch with everyday Australians, calling Labor hypocrites and saying I dont care about that commentary, while speaking to ABC Radio. A number of politicians from Mr Hockeys own Coalition have spoken out about the controversial budget measure, concerned that it will hit rural communities hardest. NSW Nationals senator John Williams says people in the bush need cars, a point echoed by Queensland Liberal National senator Ian Macdonald. You have to have a car whether youre rich or poor, you need a vehicle to be able to get from one place to the other, he told ABC Radio on Thursday. Regional Australians dont have the alternative of public transport of other means of getting there. But the treasurer disagreed, saying there was a clear trend that showed the higher the household income, the more fuel taxes were paid. St Vincent de Paul Society chief executive John Falzon said the treasurer was making a massive assumption. In fact many low-income households are heavily dependent on quite old motor vehicles that are not terribly fuel efficient as their only means of transport, he told Fairfax Media. Cheaper housing was also often located in areas that were poorly served by transport, but far from jobs, so they have to travel long distances at times. When quizzed by reporters in Perth later on Wednesday, Mr Hockey was unrepentant, labelling the reaction to his comments as hysteria. The fact is that there is a clear trend in Australia - the higher the household income the more fuel taxes are paid by the household, he said. His office also released figures that showed average weekly expenditure on petrol ranges from $16.36 for those on the lowest income to $53.87 among the highest incomes. Households in relatively disadvantaged areas were also less likely to own motor vehicles than those in relatively advantaged areas. Where motor vehicles were owned, households in relatively disadvantaged areas were most likely to own only one car whereas households in relatively advantaged areas were more likely to have two or more motor vehicles.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 04:32:55 +0000
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