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

What happened was that the Leader of the Opposition, knowing that the policy would not benefit Rosanna Harris, told her that it would. That is what happened. He knew it would not benefit her, or, if he did not know it would not benefit, he did not even understand his own policy. He cannot have it both ways. He was either misleading this lady or he did not understand his own policy. He can take his pick. Either judgement condemns the Leader of the Opposition.

I am asked about our approach to housing affordability. I am invited by the Leader of the Opposition, with his hand on his heart, not to blame the states. Let me say to the Leader of the Opposition that, where the states are to blame, I will blame them; where the Commonwealth must accept responsibility, I will accept that responsibility.

In relation to housing affordability, the overall state of the economy is something for which the Commonwealth is responsible. I am very pleased to say that the thing the overall state of the economy affects more than anything else when it comes to housing affordability is the level of interest rates. I am pleased to report to the House that interest rates under this government have, on average, been 4½ per cent lower than they were under the former government.

I am pleased to report to the House that people still remember that interest rates hit 17 per cent under the former government. If anybody thought I was the only person who remembers that, I met a lot of people last weekend and a lot of them mentioned 17 per cent. They remember it.

It is our responsibility to look after the general level of economic activity—we accept responsibility for that—but it is not our responsibility to preside over general land releases. It is not our responsibility to set policy in relation to development charges. It is not our responsibility to set stamp duty imposts. It is not our responsibility to impose land tax. Federal land tax in this country was abolished about 40 or 50 years ago.

The Leader of the Opposition asks me about rental affordability. One of the reasons we retain negative gearing is to encourage people to invest in rental properties. There is only one side of politics that has ever tinkered with abolishing negative gearing. That was the Keating government. They abolished it for 12 months between 1986 and 1987 and it resulted in a very rapid escalation in rent. That policy was hastily reversed. So I say to the Leader of the Opposition, ‘Yes, I will engage in the blame game where blame ought to be apportioned: to those governments that are to blame.’ State governments carry a great deal of the responsibility, and the Leader of the Opposition need not imagine that, by some constant reference to the blame game, he is going to discourage us from reminding the Australian people of the failures of state governments in this area.

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