Page 866 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 25 July 1989
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to abortion clinics because they cannot afford to meet both home loan repayments and the financial commitment of bringing up a child.
The newspaper report stated that some abortion clinics have warned that the Labor Government "may 'price reproduction out of the market' forcing another decline in Australia's sub-zero birth rate if the cost of living and interest rate spiral is not curbed".
The stark reality under the Labor Government is: children or a mortgage. That is a totally unacceptable situation. Those who do not fulfil this criterion have little hope of owning a home of their own.
Mr Speaker, the hardest hit by these high interest rates are those people who purchased three to four years ago and whose current housing loan repayments do not cover their interest bills, so a shortfall exists. The obvious result of this is that such home owners, instead of paying off their debts, are slowly sinking into them. Is it any wonder that people are finding it hard to keep their heads above water?
Mr Speaker, interest rates are at their highest levels in a decade, and the home repayments have risen from 19.2 per cent of a householder's real disposable income in March 1983 to 30 per cent today.
The social questions for the community which is suffering from these intolerable interest rates are also a major point of concern. Many are being forced to live in unexpected hardship. Many others will be forced to sell their family homes. Some cannot sell, as this would leave them still in debt. Only this morning I spoke to a friend who has had a flat. He has a wife and two small children, and his wife is not able to work because she has to look after the children. He bought a small 11-square house in Tuggeranong, after selling his flat because the family was getting too big. He works in three jobs to pay off the interest rate. The strain the Labor Government is imposing on the family unit in such circumstances must be immense.
The Domestic Violence Crisis Service cannot give any definite figures on causation and domestic violence but was sure that interest rates and financial pressure were affecting the family unit and increasing the amount of calls it received. The inability to purchase a home, as shown by the Australian Bankers Association's quote that the Trends estimate for February, March and April shows a continued decline in demand for housing finance throughout the period is not news to anyone.
The direct effects of the interest rate increases on the individual have been well documented, but what are the wider social and economic consequences for the ACT? Firstly, there is the problem of home rental. The situation exists, Mr Speaker, and it will become worse, of
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