Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

The truth of the matter is that Australians’ asset growth has far outstripped their borrowings. As the Reserve Bank notes, we now have $6 of assets for every dollar of borrowing. As a consequence, for every dollar of debt, households have $2 in financial assets. The nominal wealth of households has increased by 11 per cent per annum, compared with a growth of six per cent per annum over the last seven years of the previous Labor government. What has in fact happened is that the Australian household sector has had the greatest accumulation of wealth that we have seen in generations. In relation to that, because interest rates are low, Australians have felt confident to borrow and, notwithstanding the fact that they have borrowed, their net asset position is still stronger. Let me come back to one thing that would really interrupt this accumulation of wealth by Australians. One thing that would really, really interrupt it would be an Australian Labor Party government.

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