Josh Frydenberg has rejected calls for the Federal Government to provide a second round of JobKeeper payments to Victorians affected by the lockdown, saying casual workers had the option to sell off their investment properties if cash flow was an issue.
“If you’re struggling to pay the rent, then can I suggest moving into one of your unoccupied investment properties for now or, if necessary, selling one to tide you over,” the Treasurer said.
“It’s tough, I know. No-one wants to offload assets and reduce their investment portfolio unnecessarily, and ordinarily my advice would be to hang on to your properties. But these are not ordinary times”.
He said managing a diverse portfolio of real estate assets was a personal responsibility, not a federal government one. “I’m sorry, but if you have failed to plan for something like this then you’ve only got yourself to blame. What we don’t want to do is create an incentive for people to shirk building a diversified stock of investments”.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said Victorians should heed the advice of the Treasurer and opt for the cash injection of an investment property sale. “It’s likely to be the closest thing to an injection you’ll get this year”.
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Chris Auld
