Media Statement - 5th November 2007
Australian
families are paying a hefty price for
John
Howard and
Peter
Costello’s failure to fight inflation, with
five interest rate rises since the last election hitting family budgets hard
across the country.
The Coalition pledged to keep interest rates at record lows at the last election, but yesterday Mr Howard washed his hands of any responsibility saying inflationary pressures - and therefore rising interest rates – were ‘inevitable’.
Of course the reality is that the Reserve Bank has warned Mr Howard and Mr Costello time and time again about capacity constraints in the economy putting upward pressure on inflation and interest rates.
But Mr Howard and Mr Costello have repeatedly ignored those warnings, and now Australian families are paying the price in skyrocketing mortgage repayments.
For a family with an average mortgage, five interest rate rises since Mr Howard and Mr Costello promised to keep interest rates at record lows have added:
- $209 per month or $62,594 over the life of the loan in NSW
- $193 per month or $57,930 over the life of the loan in Victoria
- $199 per month or $59,771 over the life of the loan in Queensland
- $156 per month or $46,737 over the life of the loan in South Australia
- $198 per month or $59,403 over the life of the loan in Western Australia
- $142 per month or $42,564 over the life of the loan in Tasmania
- $175 per month or $52,481 over the life of the loan in the Northern Territory
- $194 per month or $58,126 over the life of the loan in the ACT.
For many families, the financial stress caused by Mr Howard’s broken interest rate promise comes at a time when wages and conditions are under threat from Mr Howard’s extreme Work Choices laws.
Mr Howard has duped Australian families with yet another ‘non-core promise’ on interest rates at the last election. Families now have every right to ask why they should believe anything Mr Howard says at this election.
Kevin Rudd and Federal Labor understand the pressures on working families. Our economic strategy is based squarely on expanding the capacity of our economy and putting downward pressure on inflation and interest rates.