Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, I thank you for that and for bringing the attention of the Senate to that very important matter. That is a concern I have, and I am going to continue to highlight those concerns in the lead-up to the election this year, as I will with respect to interest rates.

This is a very important matter. In 1989, we had 18 per cent interest rates under the Labor government. For 1.2 million small businesses in this country—in my home state of Tasmania there are over 34,000 small businesses—this could be crucial. This will be critical. I know what the small businesses and the farmers were paying in interest on their overdrafts at and around that time because I was there. I was aware of it and I was concerned for my colleague small businesses. This government—that is, the Howard-Costello team, the team that is leading Australia—is very much pro small business. Under Labor, businesses are going to get more red tape, and I can assure those in this chamber that the interest rates under our coalition government will always be lower than they are under a Labor government. The record is there. The interest rates are higher under a Labor government. You have seen the averages. I refer to the mortgage interest rates, which are still more than two percentage points lower than their March 1996 levels of 10.5 per cent. For the average new mortgage of $245,000, this reduction in interest rates saves households $449 a month in interest payments. This is the figure that Senator Gavin Marshall was referring to in terms of the increase over the last 11 years, but he did not refer to the average new mortgage and the reduction in interest rates saving households $450 a month in interest payments since March 1996.

That is a great result for Australian families, and I want to thank Mr Howard. The Treasurer, Peter Costello, is the finest treasurer Australia has ever had—and, in fact, one of the finest treasurers in the world today. That is recognised very broadly in many quarters around the world, not only in the OECD countries, and it should be acknowledged.

Finally, the potential Rudd Labor government—the Rudd opposition at the moment—is a policy black hole. There is a black hole on their website with respect to tax and transport. It is a policy black hole. It is a ‘me-too’ response. They are superficial in policy development. There is no substance to it, and it is a complete contrast to the Howard-Costello team.