Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Banking and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Scullion, the Minister representing the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. I ask the minister whether he recalls stating yesterday:

... interest rates today are at the highest they have ever been under the Howard government ...

In case not everyone heard it, he repeated it when he said that interest rates were now:

... the highest they have ever been under us.

Didn’t the minister also say: ‘They are at record lows; they are indeed record lows’? Given this totally confused, repeated and contradictory answer by the minister yesterday, can he explain how it is possible for interest rates to be ‘the highest they have ever been under us’ and, at the same time, ‘at record lows’?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sorry that the senator opposite is confused. I will clarify the record for him. Since the question given to me referred to the record, I was simply making a comparison—indeed, a comparative analysis, which is what this place is about—and I made the point that the very best that Labor could come up with was marginally above our very worst. If those opposite would like to reiterate relative benefits regarding the economy—and I think that was the substance of the question—let me say that we are proud to have led a government that took this country from an appalling state of affairs in 1996 when we took office. That appalling state of affairs was reflected by an unemployment rate of 10.9 per cent at the peak of Labor. Australia now enjoys a 4.3 per cent unemployment rate, the lowest in 30 years. So I certainly enjoy any question from the other side which seeks to genuinely compare the performance of government over the years.

Home mortgage rates have been mentioned a number of times. There is a concern amongst the Australian people about what will happen under Labor should they come to power. I think we all know that there will be a repeat of history. You can be sure of that. Today we have a home mortgage rate of 8.3 per cent; under Labor it peaked at 17 per cent.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Twenty-two per cent for business loans.

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am informed that it was 22 per cent for business loans. As we are having this interesting comparison of the performance of government, let me say that, again, it comes down to two things. The first is the capacity to create an economy which provides fantastic growth in jobs and low interest rates. All of those aspects that make up an economy, including inflation, are fundamental to a good economy. When you have those fundamentals you can run a government that everybody in Australia enjoys. People are enjoying the good governance of a good economy at this moment because there are 2,183,000 who have a job today who did not have a job in 1996. The opposition come into this place and say, ‘What about the people who are having difficulty buying a home?’ I have gone to great lengths to inform the Australian people and those on the other side that, whilst the Australian government has done a tremendous job by giving everybody a job and ensuring that interest rates are far lower than they ever were under Labor—and there is more to do—we will continue to implore the states and territories, the Queensland branch of the Labor Party, the New South Wales branch of the Labor Party and the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party to do their bit as well. So, instead of ripping off the people of the states and territories, we must ensure that the relationship between the Labor Party and the Australian people in those places reflects the need to stop taxing the people. We have done the right thing. We have a fantastic economy. We need the Labor Party to talk to their mates in the other jurisdictions to ensure that the full benefits of the market economy flow to all Australians. (Time expired)

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Banking and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given the minister’s interest in history, is he not aware that when Mr Howard was last Treasurer interest rates hit 22 per cent? Doesn’t the minister’s complete confusion yesterday and again today—he just could not answer the question on the contradictory answers that he gave yesterday—highlight the fact that the government broke its explicit 2004 election promise that it would keep interest rates at record lows? You have broken your promise. After nine interest rate hikes in a row, adding $457 a month to a $300,000 mortgage, how will our kids ever afford to buy their own home, when you break election promise after election promise on interest rates?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very proud to be a member of a government that has allowed people to have a job and to buy their own home. There is no doubt about the comparison between those opposite and us. They are happy to come into this place proud of the fact that they had 17 per cent interest rates—22 per cent for business loans—but those people are the ones who sent small businesses broke. They put people on the dole and they hurt Australians. Those Australians still remember. To those Australians who do not remember let me say this: think about the comparison between interest rates—17 per cent under Labor and 8.3 per cent under the coalition.