Pauline Hanson cashes in on Maitland pub for $1.1 million

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has cashed in her Hunter Valley investment property for $1.1 million, doubling her money in the decade she owned it.

Records show the Queensland senator purchased the former Exchange Hotel in the heart of Maitland for $449,000 in 2012 in partnership with local real estate agent Rhonda Nyquist.

It was sold to a syndicate of buyers in the Dig & Hedge company, of which one is Ines Scotland, one of the country’s most successful women executives in mining.

But rather than toast her significant capital gain from the sale Hanson took the opportunity to slam the federal government for the cost of living pressures and rental housing crisis facing many Australians.

“As an Australian investor I have lost confidence in the national economy under this Labor government,” Hanson said through a spokesman.

“Property investment has become more and more unviable in Australia, and the government are demonising investors.

“So when the opportunity came up to sell my interest in the property, I happily took it.”

Hanson’s pecuniary interests register was updated to reflect the sale last Friday, and news of the sale was first reported by political transparency website Open Politics.

Contrary to Hanson, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe echoed the views of many of the country’s most senior economists last month when he said the rental crisis was due to the “modest” expansion of housing supply in contrast to a sharp rise in population on the back of reopened international borders. Economists have also said the rise in working from home arrangements has created demand for tens of thousands of extra homes.

Hanson’s concerns over the supply of housing in the country comes as Labor’s housing policy is set to be debated in the Senate in the coming fortnight, looking to introduce a Housing Australia Future Fund in which $10 billion in Commonwealth money is invested to generate a dividend used to build 30,000 social and affordable homes over the next five years.

A spokesman for Hanson said the senator has no intention of supporting Labor’s signature housing policy, in part because the 30,000 new homes is not nearly enough.

Instead, One Nation is pushing to address the housing crisis by lowering immigration and banning all foreigners from owning real estate, including new apartments.

Cost of living pressures are expected to loom large in Tuesday’s budget, with households expected to gain $14.6 billion in federal help paying for healthcare and energy expenses.

Hanson cited the $13.50 she was recently charged for a beer at a pub in Queensland as the kind of thing making it harder for punters. “I despair for Australians who like to have a drink at the local pub.”

The Maitland property is now home to a boutique craft beer bar called The Pourhouse, set behind a classic art deco facade. It includes a three-bedroom apartment above which has been leased for $650 a week.

The Pourhouse is a popular local institution offering a wide selection of boutique beer and cider and a menu including house favourite American-style ribs for $35, vegetarian burger for $28, or share plates such as satay chicken, Peking duck spring rolls and prawn dumplings.

Scotland, the former Rio Tinto executive and boss of Citadel Resources, was appointed chair of Metal Bank two years ago, and is based in nearby Lorn, where she set a record house price in 2021 buying an 1830s Georgian-style house for $2.5 million.