Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Minchin, the Minister representing the Prime Minister. Does the minister recall the Liberal Party advertisement in the 2004 election campaign which said that the government would, and I quote: ‘keep interest rates at record lows’? Is the minister aware that, at the time of that claim, mortgage interest rates were at seven per cent? Is the minister further aware that as a result of today’s interest rate increase, the fifth since the election and that promise, rates will go up to 8.3 per cent? Doesn’t that mean that working families will pay on average an extra $200 per month on their mortgages compared to when the government promised it would keep interest rates at record lows? Minister, given that interest rates are now higher than at any time in the last 10 years, hasn’t the government broken its promise to the Australian people to keep interest rates at record lows?