Employment Minister Michaelia Cash found herself in a spot of bother this week when it turned out she hadn’t properly declared ownership of her new house in Perth until asked about it by journos over at Fairfax. Cash bought the house next door to her own property in Floreat on November 4. She then declared ownership of the property as an investment on January 21 this year — almost three months after actually buying the property.

The mortgage on the investment was reported on February 21, meaning both declarations are outside of the 35-day deadline to declare interests.

On Monday (the day the story broke) Cash declared that she also receives rental income on the property.

It’s not clear how long rental income had been coming in on the property. It just goes to show persistence is key — if you don’t declare everything on the first or second time, the third time should do it.