Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Feeney, perhaps you were not around then or perhaps you were getting some union campaign organised. You certainly were not looking after the jobs of your union members, because unemployment in 1996 was at an all-time high. You might remember as well that inflation in 1996, after 13 years of Labor government, was in double digit figures. People complain that Mr Rudd and Mr Swan talk up inflation, but even when they are talking it up they are talking about three, four and five per cent. When the previous government took over in 1996, inflation was in double digit figures and interest rates were up around eight or nine per cent. I remember back when the Paul Keating government was in office. I was buying a house in those days. I was paying 17.5 per cent interest on my housing loan under that Labor government. You can understand why Australians appreciate that Labor cannot be trusted with money.

For those who might be listening, if you think that you are having troubles with your mortgage at the moment, imagine how you would have been if you were paying 17½ per cent interest on your housing loan. That is what happened under the last period of Labor government. Not only did they leave a $96 billion debt, not only did they leave unemployment at record rates, not only did they leave inflation in double digit figures, but they left ordinary householders like me paying 17½ per cent interest on my housing loan.