Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

In relation to Senator Carr’s question, he chose to quote the HIA. As I recall, the HIA has campaigned strenuously in relation to housing affordability on the basis of the negligence, and indeed the woeful behaviour, of state governments in their approach to stamp duties—their outrageous imposition of stamp duties on new and first home purchases—and their hopelessly incompetent policies with respect to land release. This has been a major campaign of the HIA, an independent housing body. Senator Carr chooses to come in here and quote the HIA. Let me quote back at him what the HIA is saying about the outrageous behaviour of state governments in penalising new homebuyers through their land release policies and their stamp duty policies. Senator Carr is a member of the Labor Party. He should talk to the six state Labor governments about those policies if he is concerned about housing affordability.

In relation to interest rates, these are independently set by the Reserve Bank in accordance with its charter to keep inflation low; it is their responsibility. It is the position of the federal government that we want interest rates to be as low as is possible, consistent with keeping inflation under control. The record of the Reserve Bank on that matter in relation to the Australian economy over the last 10 years has been, as I said yesterday, exemplary. Inflation is half the average, over our 10 years in government, that it was under the 13 years of the former Labor government: 2.6 under us and 5.2 under Labor. That is the prerogative of the Reserve Bank. That is what is critical for new home purchasers: to keep inflation under control and to make sure that they have jobs. Unemployment is as low as it has been in 30 years, so the capacity of new home purchasers both to take on a mortgage and to service a mortgage is much better than it ever was under our predecessors.