Simon Crean and Kim Beazley left Australians with mortgage rates of 10.5 per cent in 1996. They are now 6.8 per cent. For a mortgage of $100,000, this is a saving in interest costs of approximately $3700 per year or $308 per month.
Mortgage interest rates peaked at 17 per cent under Labor. A family with a $100,000 mortgage was paying $850 per month more in interest costs under Labor, at interest rates of 17 per cent, than they are now, under the Coalition.
Apart from 1999, a mortgage interest rate of 6.8 is the lowest since March 1970. This is very good news for new home buyers, who also have available to them up to $14,000 under the First Home Owners Scheme.
Under the Coalition, rising real wages, low inflation and low interest rates have made loans more affordable to a wider range of households so more people have the opportunity to buy their own homes.
Simon Creans graphs are totally deceptive. It is misleading to only examine household debt without also looking at the other side of the balance sheet - household assets. Total household assets have grown by an average of around 12 per cent per year over the last three years.
Also, under the Coalition, the net worth of Australian households is greater than ever before, growing by more than 46 per cent from 469.1 billion in March 1996 to 687.9 billion in March 2001. Simon Crean failed to mention this.
Now we know why.
Labors analysis is partial, flawed and deceptive.
CANBERRA
1 July 2001
Contact: Richard Wise 0419 482 497