Labor MP Forgot To Declare $2.2 Million Negatively Geared Home, As You Do

The big political news floating around today is that David Feeney, Labor MP for Batman, who was caught out after not declaring a $2.3 million property on his Parliamentary interests register. He’s copping it sweet for that one, mainly because a) he denied it all yesterday and b) it’s negatively geared. Which isn’t totally unusual, but looks weird when he’s been railing against negative gearing,

According to Fairfax, he blames a “maelstrom of events” for stopping him from declaring the property on the interests register. Which makes sense. I always blame ‘a maelstrom of events’ for my numerous and varied indiscretions and people normally understand. “Lots of things happened” absolutely absolves you of fulfilling your legal obligations here.
“I can only put it down to the fact that I was elected in September in 2013 and we bought the property in December of 2013,” he told Fairfax. “In that maelstrom of events I failed to update my register.” I see.
Also, it’s been revealed that he bought another investment property from disgraced former Health Services Union official Kathy Jackson, which which technically not a huge drama definitely doesn’t look good. That property… is also negatively geared. But it is declared! So there’s that.
Obviously, both the Greens and the Coalition have pounced on this one. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said that this exposes Labor’s ‘hypocrisy’ on property and negative gearing. Greens MP Adam Bandt says that it means there is a “clear choice” for the people of Batman between the Greens candidate Alex Bhathal and “factional warlord” Feeney.
If there’s one lesson here… declare your shit. Just do it, friends.
Photo: ABC.

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV