Is Louise self-funded?
YES. I haven't and won't be accepting donations. I won't even take $20 off people through fundraising. I've known for two years that I want to stand for Council as I love my city. I've been saving as I want to give this my all.
Has Louise received money from the Liberal party? Did she get a $100,000 grant?
NO. No way! The Tasmanian Residential Rental Property Owners Association, of which I'm the President, secured a once-off grant for $100,000 over two years through the Department of Justice to support harmonious tenants and compliance with tenancy legislation.
There are conditions and clauses around this grant (of which $50k has been received), including requirements to report back to the Department. Not a single cent would be used for any purpose other than the purpose it was issued for. Thousands of groups have received government funding over the years, just like the Tenants Union who receive around $600,000 each year.
Fact - The Tasmanian Residential Rental Property Owners Association received a grant, NOT Louise Elliot
Fact - The grant must be used for the sole purpose it was issued for, which is to educate rental owners, access legal expertise and promote compliance with residential tenancy legislation
Fact - The Department of Justice issued the grant, not the Liberal Party (they just happen to be in Government)
Fact - The grant has been heavily scrutinised, as it should be - all expenditure should be examined. This includes in parliament and through budget estimates. It was also covered in The Mercury and ABC in late 2021.
Fact - The Tasmanian Residential Rental Property Owners Association operates in accordance with its constitution which is based on the model constitution for Tasmanian incorporated associations.
Fact - This is a once off grant, not recurrent. The Tenants Union of Tasmania receive around $600,000 a year.
Fact - All rental owners are welcome tom join the Association. The most recent AGM was July 2022.
Fact - The Greens are wrong. Louise announced her intention to run for Hobart City Council in December 2020, well before the grant was issued to the Association.
Does Louise have an Airbnb?
YES. I have one short-stay property. I operate this as my (part-time) job, while also working as a self-employed HR Manager and being mum to two young kids. I co-host Airbnb listings for my mate (and years ago, my mum) as they are terrible with computers. I have no ownership or financial interest in their properties - it's to help them.
Does Louise have a conflict of interest given she has an Airbnb and rental owner?
DEPENDS. I'll take every situation as it comes and if in doubt as to whether I have a conflict or not, I'd declare a conflict. NO .... There is no conflict simply because the property is an investment property - thousands of Tasmanians own investment property. The Local Government Act supports this by sensibly stating that there is not interest if "the benefit or detriment is one received in common with all or a substantial proportion of the electors of the municipal area." Many, if not the majority of current elected member own property other than their principal place of residence. And the last Census shows that around 20% of households own investment property. From Hansard 4 March 2022...
YES....If there was a vote to try to remove the existing short-stay permits that have been issued, I'd have a conflict as I would be impacted. If there was an application for a short-stay property or development near where I lived, I'd also remove myself from the vote. YES....If I had of received $5000 in donations from a community member who a few years later submitted an application to build an investment property or for a short-stay permit, I'd definitely have a conflict...... but not everyone's judgment is the same.....
Is Louise a political party member?
NO. Nope, never have been. Some of my values are Liberal, some are Labor and some are Green (early Greens before they lost the plot). I believe in owners rights, effort equals reward, in a strong safety net, giving everyone the chance to succeed, and not trashing our planet. I was brought up Labor, a family of farmers, trades and retail, but it's been sad to see the demise of Labor in recent years as they're gone too far from the middle in my view.
Is Louise using billboard advertising?
YES. And I'm paying for it myself and I am operating in accordance with the same rules that apply to everyone else.
Is Louise wealthy?
NO. I'm very lucky though, and I know that. Luck and hard work and good decisions. I fully appreciate I don't have big financial stresses that many others do, but we're a both parents working family. I bought my first property as a single woman aged 26, and a second aged 30 (I made the cover of the Mercury for it many years ago highlighting a trend in single young women buying solo). I was fortunate enough to buy at the time when prices were half what they are now. I stopped spending money on sequins and nail polish and I was at Bunnings every weekend. I fully renovated both properties, very hands on.
Is Louise against regulating short-stay?
NO. I'm against a blanket ban on permits, even though, as an existing permit holder I could benefit as a ban effectively kills any future competition. I don't believe that banning permits will resolve the housing crisis. I believe density limits and banning overseas ownership of short-stay would make much more sense - a more balanced approach.
Has Louise "spent her career advocating on behalf of the rich and powerful"?
NO. My career has been in retail, admin, project management, communications, marketing, recruitment, human resources and policy. After college I worked in London for few years, then in the State Government for about 13 years, working across several roles and departments, finishing with Human Resources with the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2020, I started a Landlords group, which was later formalised as an incorporated association the Tasmanian Residential Rental Property Owners Association. My work to support small time rental owners (like myself), harmonious tenancies and increasing housing supply has been completely voluntary.
Has Louise called for a "shanty-town style neighbourhoods of tiny homes"?
NO. Nothing 'shanty' about it and clearly the words of people with no imagination and/or feel threatened. More info about the project to bring new homes at affordable rates to inner city Hobart on otherwise wasted space is here. And also here. I'm looking to buy the first as a show home. I'm a less talk, more action type.
Is Louise a bigot and transphobe?
NO. Absolutely not. I believe that it is unfair and unsafe for biological men who now identify as women to play physical sports post-puberty in the female single sex category. It's a safety and fairness issue. A third category would make sense that is open to all sexes and genders. This does not make me a transphobe - it makes me pro-fairness and safety.
Does Louise thinks the Crowther Statue should remain?
YES. With interpretation added to provide a fuller story of Crowther's conduct and/or an separate installation telling the Aboriginal community's perspective.
Was Louise "outspoken against the state government’s temporary rental moratorium during the initial coronavirus lockdowns’?"
YES. Tasmania's eviction moratorium applied to every tenant, even if they hadn't lost income due to COVID. Every other state had their moratorium coverage as being conditional upon showing have been financially impacted. Our Association, with me as spokesperson, supported dozens of owners as there tenants stopped paying rent, even though their income was unaffected. As a result, Tasmanian taxpayers handed over hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay the rent for people who had not lost income due to COVID, they just took advantage of this faulty legislation.
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