Kooyong candidate Amelia Hamer campaigned on being a renter, now admits she owns two investment properties

A Liberal Party candidate who told constituents she was a renter campaigning for home ownership has admitted to owning two investment properties. Kooyong hopeful Amelia Hamer, 31, is the grand-niece of former Victorian premier Rupert Hamer and has been running for the prized seat in Melbourne’s inner east. She has repeatedly proclaimed she is a renter, but confirmed to Nine newspapers that she owns properties in Canberra and London. It was reported her London flat is worth more than $1m and was advertised at $3000 rent per month in 2020. “While working in London and Canberra, I took out mortgages to buy the apartments that I lived in,” she told the newspaper. “Now that I’m back living in Melbourne, I am renting in Hawthorn.” Ms Hamer’s website says she is advocating “home ownership for young Australians by tackling housing affordability and cost of living,” as well as helping locals “achieve the dream of home ownership.” She was described in one Nine newspaper as an “Oxford-educated renter” and a “renter wanting to get into the housing market,” as well as commenting on the Today show, “I know my rent has gone up significantly – I’m a renter”. Kooyong MP Monique Ryan told Nine it was disappointing Ms Hamer tried to deceive the electorate. “The issue here isn’t that she owns two properties; it’s that by painting herself as a millennial renter she misled people by not disclosing she was also a property owner and landlord.” Ms Hamer and Ms Ryan have been contacted for comment.