Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

They are record lows. They are indeed record lows. They are far beneath what they were under Labor. Of course, the fundamentals about interest rates are all about how we run the economy. I know that most Australians will not need a reminder that when interest rates were running at 17.5 per cent under Labor, if you could only imagine that, given the tension one feels at around 8 per cent now, how bad it would feel under Labor under 17 per cent. Of course, they talk about housing affordability, they talk about interest rates. It is very hard to buy a home if you do not have a job. Again, one of the single fundamentals today, unemployment, is at 4.3 per cent. Under the other side, it was well over 10 per cent.

It is okay to talk about how people feel the pain, and no doubt people do. It is a very difficult process in terms of buying a home, particularly with respect to your home loan. Of course, interest rates have a part to play in that. But as you would know, Mr President, I have said many times in this process that there are many other aspects that can be controlled by the states and territories. They are stamp duties, land taxes and a whole range of other taxes that have been foisted on the Australian public and have been referred to in this place certainly as a housing affordability tax.

Of course, when we are talking about the economy, there is a whole suite of other reasons why people should look to the choice between the coalition and Labor in the next election. Not only do we provide people with a job but we provide them with jobs under us that have had wage increases—real increases of 22 per cent.