John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Well, he is. The Reserve Bank’s March 2007 Financial Stability Review says:

The average mortgage repayment on a new owner-occupied loan as a share of average disposable income is below its peak in 1989.

In other words, notwithstanding the fact that people can now afford to buy ever more expensive houses, it is still below the 1989 peak. So I do not know what the member for Lilley is talking about. I recognise that some Australian families are doing it tough. I always have and I always will. No matter who is in office, there will always be some families who miss out. If you look at overall wages, if you look at unemployment, which is at a 33-year low, you will find that if fairness is the chance of a job of then, as Tony Blair famously said and truthfully said, fairness in Australia is at a 32-year high.

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