John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Australia’s unemployment rate has fallen from 8.2 per cent in March 1996 to 5.3 per cent now. That is about a 30-year low. A total of 1.7 million new jobs have been created under the coalition. Inflation has been contained, averaging just 2.5 per cent per year. Finally, of enormous interest to the people the Labor Party used to try and represent—that is, the home buyers of Australia—household mortgage interest rates are about 7.3 per cent, well below the 17 per cent seen in the early 1990s and the 10.5 per cent in March 1996. On an average new mortgage of about $220,000, the reduction in interest rates since March 1996 saves Australian families about $585 a month in interest charges. I am delighted to be questioned by the opposition on my record.

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