A Liberal candidate campaigning on the cost of living and housing crises in a must-win swing seat owned a luxury apartment in one of Japan‘s best ski resorts which was marketed at Australian citizens seeking to take advantage of negative gearing.
Grange Chung, the Liberal candidate for the Sydney inner-city electorate of Reid, regularly shares earnest videos about how the Labor government is responsible for ‘the worst decline in (the) standard of living since 1959’.
The ex-naval commander and commercial airline pilot has made the cost of living crisis the keystone of his pitch to voters, claiming a Coalition government will tackle it by slashing wasteful government spending.
‘I now own the home I bought here in the 90s as a junior officer,’ Mr Chung said in a press release announcing his candidacy.
‘It saddens me that young people don’t have the same opportunities to enter the housing market, which I had, when I was young.’
What the Sydney-born electrical engineering graduate doesn’t mention is his 2016 purchase of an apartment in the luxury OneNozawa Residence building in Japan.
The property, which features just six apartments now costing around $2million each, sits over 700 metres above Nozawa Onsen village, the world-famous ski resort which hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Mr Chung and his wife Yoon were pictured clinking champagne glasses after they splashed out on an ‘genuinely amazing’ apartment in 2016, according to The Real Este Conversation.
Liberal candidate Grange Chung has made the cost of living crisis the keystone of his pitch to voters, claiming a Coalition government will tackle it by slashing wasteful government spending
What the Sydney-born electrical engineering graduate doesn’t mention is his 2016 purchase of an apartment in the luxury OneNozawa Residence building in Japan (pictured)
‘Each apartment is pure elegance; they are the highest residential ski apartments in Japan; they match their location with the world’s best quality windows and insulation,’ Mr Chung gushed at a ‘signing ceremony’.
Another puff piece described how the apartments have been fitted with ’12 tonnes of the world’s best triple-glazed German windows (and) specially designed with 50mm-thick glass packets and argon gas filled inserts, to manage the altitude and climatic conditions’.
The reinforced glass was said to reduce energy costs by up to 35 per cent.
But that was not the only thing to attract foreign investors.
‘Australian tax residents have a significant opportunity to utilise negative gearing when investing in projects like OneNozawa Residence which lowers the amount of Australian tax they pay,’ Steve Douglas, CEO of Singapore-based SMATS Group said.
‘They can even claim part of the cost of visiting their property for inspections every year.’
Negative gearing is where investor landlords can claim a rental loss against their taxable income.
Even if they don’t make a loss, they can claim expenses from interest payments to council rates and property maintenance so they can reduce their total taxable income.
‘Each apartment is pure elegance; they are the highest residential ski apartments in Japan; they match their location with the world’s best quality windows and insulation,’ Mr Chung gushed at a ‘signing ceremony’ (Mr Chung is pictured at a press conference with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton)
The apartments had been fitted with ’12 tonnes of the world’s best triple-glazed German windows (and) specially designed with 50mm-thick glass packets and argon gas filled inserts, to manage the altitude and climatic conditions’
The ex-naval commander and commercial airline pilot regularly shares earnest videos about how the Labor government is responsible for ‘the worst decline in (the) standard of living since 1959’
It is estimated to cost the annual Federal Budget about $18.6billion – and is a massively divisive political issue.
The Albanese Government ruled out changes to negative gearing last year, despite the backlash to the Prime Minister’s purchase of a $4.3million cliffside mansion.
The Coalition supports it, with Peter Dutton previously saying any changes to the tax concessions would ‘further smash the housing market’.
The property’s website details how rental income from the apartments ‘pass to owners directly’.
‘OneNozawa owners will be able to claim tax offsets associated with interest costs and any declared income,’ the website states.
‘This particularly benefits Australian tax residents.’
However, Mr Chung did not take advantage of negative gearing when he purchased the property.
‘I am very proud that my wife’s and my hard work and many years of saving had allowed us to make this purchase,’ Mr Chung told this publication.
‘It had never been negatively geared.’
It is believed that Mr Chung was living in Singapore at the time he bought the apartment in his former career as Captain for Singapore Airlines flying the Boeing B787 Dreamliner.
He held roles in Singapore with the Australian Department of Defence as recently as November 2022.
His most recent job was as a military assistant with Defence Australia before he stepped down in September last year to dedicate himself full-time as the Liberal candidate for Reid, according to his LinkedIn.
A recent $2,000-a-head fundraiser at a Chinese restaurant in the Crown Sydney reportedly raised close to $100,000 for Mr Grange.
A bottle signed by former Prime Minister John Howard went for $15,000 in the auction, reported The Daily Telegraph.
In February, Liberal Senator Dave Sharma paid tribute to Mr Chung in the Senate, claiming he ‘understands the pressures facing every day Australians’.
Labor’s Sally Sitou won the seat of Reid in 2022by a margin of just 5.2 per cent.
It was previously held by the Liberal Party with a margin of 3.2 per cent.