Forget 17 Per Cent Interest Rates Today's Mortgage Pain Is Worse

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OPINION PIECE By Andrew Willcox MP, Federal Member for Dawson and Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability

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Australians who lived through the 1990s remember the pain of 17 per cent interest rates. It was a brutal period for homeowners, with families pushed to breaking point just trying to keep a roof over their heads.

But here's something that should alarm every Australian. Despite interest rates being nowhere near 17 per cent today, the average mortgage is consuming a greater share of a worker's wage than it did back then.

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In 1990, repayments on an average new home loan accounted for approximately 42 per cent of a full-time wage.

Today, that figure is around 51 per cent.

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More than half of your pay packet is gone before the groceries are purchased, the electricity bill is paid, or the car is filled with fuel.

When Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers talk about economic progress, I'd like them to explain that, to a family in Dawson, struggling to make ends meet.

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Last week's inflation figures showed annual inflation climbing to 4.3 per cent, well above the Reserve Bank's target. Underlying inflation also increased to 3.6 per cent.

These figures represent another hit to household budgets already stretched to their limits.

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Yet Jim Chalmers and Anthony Albanese keep telling Australians they've got the economy under control.

If that's true, why is inflation rising again? Why are mortgage holders bracing for another increase? And why are Australians still paying more while getting less?

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Labor cannot blame every economic problem on overseas events. Domestic inflation remains high, and government spending is causing the Reserve Bank to increase the interest rate.

Australians don't get to make excuses when their mortgage payment is due.

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They either find the money or face the consequences.

Across Dawson, I have talked with many hardworking people, who are doing the best they can in these difficult times. They've saved, bought a home, worked hard and tried to provide security for their families.

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Now they're wondering how much longer they can keep going.

Instead of more spending, more taxes and more excuses, Australia needs a government with economic discipline to lower inflation and have a serious plan to ease pressure on households.

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