Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Urban Development) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Minchin, the Minister representing the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister’s statement in the House of Representatives on 30 October when, comparing records on mortgage affordability, he said:

... the proper comparison is the proportion of income on a new mortgage, and it is lower now than it was when you had interest rates at 17 per cent.

Isn’t it the case, using the Prime Minister’s preferred measure, that the proportion of family income devoted to meeting home loan payments has actually been higher on average under the Howard government than under Labor? Is the minister aware that the Real Estate Institute of Australia has calculated that this year’s interest rate rises will add another $33,000 to interest payments over the life of an average home loan? How can the Howard government expect middle Australia to trust it on home ownership when its record on mortgage affordability is actually the worst ever?