Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

Those on this side, and I am sure all Australian families with a mortgage and all small businesses, will welcome this decision. This decision is a win for families with mortgages and every small business on Cup day—a win on Cup day. What this means is that a family with a $300,000 mortgage will now pay $50 less a month in interest repayments, a saving of $590 a year. We welcome this decision and, unlike those opposite, we are very pleased that the government's ongoing fiscal credibility and ongoing sound fiscal management have ensured that the RBA has had room to move, as it has spoken about on previous occasions.

Those opposite like to trumpet their credentials. It is worth recalling that in November 2007 the standard variable interest rate was 8.57 per cent. At the conclusion of the Howard government the standard variable rate was 8.57 per cent, significantly higher than today. In fact, a family with a $300,000 mortgage are over $2,400 better off than when we came to government. (Time expired)