Soaring mortgage defaults highlight Central West debt crisis
22 November 2007

Bob Debus, Labor candidate for Macquarie, says an alarming rise in mortgage defaults in the Central West shows that many working families are buckling under increasing financial stress.

Statistics collected by Veda Advantage – Australia's largest credit file company – show a 51.6 per cent increase in mortgage defaults in the Macquarie electorate over the last 12 months.

" These frightening statistics show that the debt crisis is hitting families hard," said Mr Debus.

" This shows that an increasing number of families in the Central West are unable to meet their basic mortgage repayments.

" The recent increase in interest rates will be the last straw for many families who are stretched to the limit with house repayments."

Mr Debus said the Howard Government's policies increased the pressure on working families who were struggling to make ends meet.

" Working families are caught in a pincer movement," said Mr Debus.

" On the one side, interest rates are increasing, fuelled by the irresponsible spending promises of a Government desperate to hold on to power.

" And on the other side, WorkChoices is putting pressure on the family budget because penalty rates and overtime are being cut. The Howard Government has been asleep at the wheel.

" By contrast, a Rudd Labor Government's fully costed economic policies will keep the economy strong and put downward pressure on interest rates.

" Labor will deliver for working families by making it easier to buy a home, expanding child care places and making it more affordable, expanding dental care, and policing rising grocery and petrol prices."