Exclusive: RBA governor buys $2m home in beach town as Australians suffer rate rises
Land registry records show Michele Bullock settled the property on March 17 – the day of the last rate rise
The RBA governor, Michele Bullock, bought a luxury four-bedroom home on the NSW north coast as the reserve bank raised interest rates on ordinary Australians.
NSW land registry records seen by Deepcut reveal Bullock settled a property in the beach town of Yamba for $2,050,000 on March 17 – the day Bullock hit Australians with a second consecutive 0.25% rate rise.
“Political and economic elites like Bullock are so accustomed to their wealth and privilege that it clearly doesn’t even occur to them that others may find their behaviour not only insensitive but absolutely abhorrent,” said Jordan van den Lamb, executive member of the Victorian Socialists.
Bullock, who earns $1,195,275 per year in her taxpayer-funded role, is among 34 public servants to be paid over $1m. Her generous pay packet is 1,513% more than the median annual salary of an Australian worker, which is sitting at $74,100.
The large home – only a seven-minute stroll to the beach – boasts two bathrooms, two car spaces, an enormous walk-in-robe, an exercise room and a wine cellar, according to images published on realestate.com.au.
Deepcut cross-checked the land title reference on the registry record to identify a property listed as sold on realestate.com.au on February 3. The governor’s publicly declared interests also include an investment in Yamba as one of four properties Bullock jointly owns with her spouse.
For privacy considerations, we have decided not to publish the street address.
As Bullock was settling her luxury investment home, she gave a speech on March 3 saying “the unemployment rate will probably have to rise” – meaning more working Australians should lose their jobs – to help counter inflation.
“Institutions like the Reserve Bank help make sure that no matter the economic circumstances, the wealthiest few keep winning, and working-class people and the poor are squeezed ever harder to satisfy the greed of the rich. And the leaders of these institutions, like Michele Bullock, are part of the class that benefits from that,” van den Lamb said.
van den Lamb is contesting the seat of Melbourne in the upcoming Victorian state elections and has made housing a core part of his campaign.
“The best thing that could come from this and similar examples is that more people channel their anger into organisation and action to challenge people like Bullock and the rigged economic and political systems that are screwing us,” he said.
Comment has been sought from the RBA governor.
This story was made possible due to a community member’s tip. Together, we expose the powerful. Got a tip? Send an email to tips@deepcutnews.com or send an anonymous Signal to @deepcut.25.
Sorry guys love your work but this one misses the mark a bit. $2M is not a massive spend for a property. Especially for a person on $1.2M salary. Then there's the fact that the interest rate rises would be hurting her as well if she is borrowing for it. Rich person buy a $2M house. Not sure there is much to see here.