Local residents struggling to make ends meet.
ABS figures released today reveal that Australian households now owe 1 trillion dollars in personal debt. This amounts to an average of $125,000 per household, meaning that personal debt levels have doubled in the last 5 years.
In August, the average mortgage repayment for first homes rose past $2000 a month, and in Victoria, NSW and the ACT, mortgage repossessions are up by about 60%.
"A growing number of local residents are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet and are struggling to keep their heads above water" Maria Vamvakinou said today.
"It's a particularly worrying trend. More and more people come to me with the same problem, namely that the rising cost of living is putting an enormous strain on both themselves and their family."
"For example, an increasing number of local constituents have come into my office asking how they can access their superannuation before their retirement because they can no longer see any other way of making ends meet."
"The reasons local residents give for the financial hardships they face are all the same. Typically, they include today's higher cost of living combined with the uncertainty that has been created by the government's extreme Industrial Relations laws, which have seen basic protections for workers disappear, overtime and penalty rates slashed, and job security become a thing of the past."
"Many also mention the financial burdens of higher petrol prices which the government has done nothing about, and skyrocketing personal debt which is exacerbated by continuing interest rate rises. People are now paying the highest percentage of their income in history to service their debt."
"Adding to this is the current crisis in housing affordability and higher mortgage repayments. First home buyers and working families continue to be priced out of the real estate market, or face enormous mortgage repayments."
"The financial pressure on families with a mortgage is greater now than it has ever been before."
"People are borrowing heavily, not for life's luxuries, but to ensure that they have a roof over their head, to put their kids through school, and to buy the necessities of life. It shows just what a fine line most working families are having to walk these days" Maria Vamvakinou said.
"There is a very real sense of crisis out there. The financial pressures families now face is putting a tremendous strain on personal and family relationships, and adversely affecting the quality of people's lives. All the while, the government seems to be doing nothing about it."
"For all the Howard government's talk about good economic management, ordinary Australian families in Hume and in so many other parts of Australia are finding it harder and harder to keep their heads above water."
"When the Howard government boasts about its economic record, it is a record that has largely seen the rich end of town getting richer, whilst families at the lower end of the economic spectrum continue to fall further and further behind into debt."
"The government needs to start investing in skills and vocational training to combat the massive skills crisis that is holding Australia's economy back. This is particularly the case in Calwell, where a new skills collage would enhance the future job prospects of our young people. Last year, the federal government chose not to establish such a collage in Broadmeadows."
"The government also needs to invest in upgrading Australia's infrastructure to boost Australian productivity. We need an economy that is not only prosperous, but one that is able to provide for ordinary Australian families, and also serve their interests."
"And we need to see the government's extreme Industrial Relations laws scrapped."
"The Howard government is proving itself either unable or unwilling to manage the Australian economy in the interests of ordinary Australians. Many people are falling behind at the same time that companies are recording record profits, and the business elite are pocketing record pay packets."
"It's hard to see what plan this government has for Australia's future. The Howard government seems oblivious to the financial hardships that more and more Australians face. We need to ask ourselves just what sort of future we are creating for our kids, and what sort of future we would like them to have"
Media Contact: Alex Kouttab 0417 541 465
