House debates Questions without Notice

Interest Rates

Monday, 13 August 2007 House of Representatives

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition

2:00 pm

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his statement this morning that his promise to keep interest rates at record lows was not real because the commitment disappeared after the first week of the last election campaign. How can the Prime Minister claim that his interest rates promise had disappeared after one week when three years later it is still on the Liberal Party website right now?

John Howard

John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister

I refer the Leader of the Opposition to precisely what I said this morning and I take the opportunity of reminding him and reminding the House that, when the latest increase in interest rates is passed on, housing interest rates will be 8¼ per cent, which is a full 4½ per cent below the average under the former Labor government.