Liberal politician John Alexander has allegedly failed to declare tens of thousands of dollars in rental income on his $4.8 million eight-bedroom luxury country estate.
Mr Alexander bought the Southern Highlands property in May, declared the purchase in June and said that he would use it for ‘short-term holiday rental’ purposes.
All members of parliament are legally required to declare ‘any other substantial sources of income’ – but the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the former media commentator ‘has never declared a dollar of income from renting out the home’.
Liberal politician Mr Alexander allegedly failed to declare thousands of dollars in rental income
Mr Alexander purchased a Southern Highlands eight-bedroom country estate for $4.8 million
The MP said he would use the huge, luxurious property for ‘short-term holiday rental’ purposes
Fairfax Media has confirmed he received rental income from the property – websites have the house listed for $1440 per day, and reveal that is is almost fully booked until the end of January – but Mr Alexander would not disclose how much he has pocketed.
The allegation he breached the rules while serving in Parliament comes just two days before the Bennelong election on Saturday – which if true will be ‘deeply embarrassing’ for the candidate.
Guests staying at Mr Alexander’s property have access to a swimming pool, five bathrooms, a billiards room, media room, formal library and outdoor entertaining areas, according to Domain.
Rental websites have the huge Southern Highlands estate listed at a staggering $1440 per day
Mr Alexander allegedly hasn’t declared any rental income from the property since its purchase
Mr Alexander’s property is almost completely booked out until the first week of February 2018
The Liberal MP declared that he had purchased the sprawling country estate in June of 2017
Investment property ownership is common among MPs – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, David Gillespie, Warren Entsch, Ian Goodenough, Barry O’Sullivan all declare rental income from their real estate investments.
But like Mr Alexander, Labor’s David Feeney, Brendan O’Connor and Kate Ellis are also allegedly ‘breaching the rules’ by their failure to separately disclose rental income, according to the media outlet.
These four MPs could potentially be found guilty of ‘serious contempt of the House of Representatives’, meaning that they could be censured and referred to the House Privileges committee.
A senior Labor source said the ALP would consider referring Mr Alexander to the Privileges committee if he wins the election on Saturday
John Alexander (left) and Kristina Keneally (right) will face off in the Bennelong by-election
Malcolm Turnbull said that John Alexander is the ‘very clear choice’ for the seat of Bennelong
On Thursday, it was confirmed that Mr Alexander leading Labor’s Kristina Keneally in the polls 53 per cent to 47 per cent – but if Ms Keneally wins Bennelong for Labour, Mr Turnbull will lose his already-precarious parliamentary majority.
The ‘battle for Bennelong’ has seen the two major parties trading accusations, with Labour claiming that Mr Turnbull is anti-Chinese, among other allegations.
‘I think it is desperate, demeaning, and it is disappointing,’ Mr Turnbull said. ‘The people of Bennelong can see through all of that. And they have a very clear choice, they have a man, John Alexander, who has been their champion.’
Meanwhile, Ms Keneally has not ruled out taking the NSW senate seat that will be vacated by Sam Dastyari following his recent resignation – with insiders claiming that she is the favourite for the seat if she does not win Bennelong this weekend.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Alexander’s representatives for comment.
Fairfax Media has confirmed that John Alexander did receive rental income from the property
The liberal MP has reportedly refused to disclose how much he has made in rental income