Steve Madden,you said that interests rates under Keating were capped at 13%.That is errant nonsense.Unless people fixed their rates early in the piece,many paid up to 20%.It all depends upon which institution you borrowed from.

Housing affordability is not a Federal Govt responsibility.It is primarily an State Govt domain.All these taxes on land and housing is state based.The Reserve Bank thanks to the Coalition is truely independant.Federal Govts create the economic conditions for interest rate movements.When an economy is getting overheated,or inflation increases they rise.Keating had high inflation,and unemployment.His poor economic management resulted in high interest rates thus bringing on a serious recession.

Let's further investigate our Labor NSW debacle in the housing sector.Aside from their taxes adding 30% to the cost of housing we have some of their other economic farces that have added to the cost of housing.12yrs ago an addition to a house cost an average of $1000.00 per sq m.Today it is three times that.In real terms with an average inflation rate of 3% there should have been only and increase of 43% instead of 300%.We had the home warranty insurance debacle whereby buliders had to indemnify themselves with their own assets and pay the premium.The Labor NSW Govt stood idely by as many small efficient builders left NSW and big companies just charged at will.We also have the Union driven OH&S debacle that no business can possibly comply to.The result is that no one wants to train an apprentice for fear of being charged with criminal neglect even if you are innocent.The Union gets half of the fines,and they alone can send you broke.This Iemma/Union joke continues to this moment.

Workers comp,which is indemnified by the NSW Govt, went broke to the tune of $3 billion because the Public Servants were using stress leave as holidays.In one year alone it was $672 million a rate that was three times that of the private sector.So Bob Carr limited payouts and now many genuinely injured workers live in poverty.The Labor Govt punished businesses and poor workers to pay for their Public Service excesses.

Country Gal, the halving of CGT, combined with existing negative gearing provisions, has encouraged investors to switch from shares into property. You cannot tell me that Costello's reduction of CGT hasn't corresponded with the nation's property price bubble. Even the RBA and the Productivity Commission have recommended changes to the tax system so that it no longer encourages property speculation. A 1999 Productivity Comission report observed: "Like many participants [in its inquiry], the commission has concluded that these general taxation arrangements have lent impetus to the recent surge in investment in rental housing and consequent house price increases."

Sadly, the Coalition isn't interested in reforming the tax system, and thus continues to favour the high-income earning real estate speculators at the expense of housing affordability for the rest of us. Just in case the tax system isn't distorting the real estate market enough, high immigration is further pumping demand.

This real estate bubble is not only hurting ordinary Australians, it's a threat to our entire debt-ridden economy, especially if global interest rates continue to rise. Considering our woeful trade performance, Australia's capacity to contribute to the servicing and ultimate repayment of our ballooning foreign debt is grossly inadequate. Not even our quarries will be able to bail us out. Why, then, do why have a tax system which provides such powerful incentives to invest in debt-intensive assets which provide no capacity to actually service our foreign liabilities?

It's going to be an interesting next few years for the Australian economy, especially if our terms of trade decline and foreign lenders raise the cost of lending to Australians, or stop lending altogether.

Arjay

Perhaps Mr Howard has trouble recalling the time when he was treasurer under Malcolm Fraser. A visit to the Reserve Bank's historical interest rates page on its website reveals that the highest 90-day bank bill interest rate of 21.39 per cent occurred in April 1982 during the Fraser government with Mr Howard as treasurer.

The highest during the Hawke government was 19.56 per cent in December 1985. The highest under Paul Keating was 7.95 per cent in December 1994, which is only marginally higher than the highest under the Howard Government of 7.57 per cent in April 1996.

Another inconvenient fact. :)

Let's go back a step further to Gough,in a time of a resources boom he spent like a drunken sailor and sent us broke.In the entire term of John Howard's reign,we have not seen anything approaching a recession but that does not make him the golden haired boy who can do no wrong.Under Hawke/Keating and continued by the Coalition,we had the reduction of tarrifs which have destroyed our industries under the lie of a level playing field.This will be our undoing in the name of globalisation and the aiding of over populated third world countries.It suits multi-nationals who want cheap labour and left wing environmentalists who want to reduce us all to the lowest common denominator.Too many people on this planet with limited resources and energy,cheapens human endeavour.This is not a good recipe for world harmony.

I will always go with the philosopy of rewarding individuals and small businesses who show courage,innovation and hard work.We have to a large exent are losing the plot in discipline,respect for each other and rewarding the real producers in our society.PS.That does not include banks,lawyers,bludging bureaucrats or insurance companies.

The Coalition have not backed Australian technoloy and innovation just like previous Govts and this is our Govt's greatest sins.The soul of our innovation and intelligence has moved off shore.The Coalition should have gone two elections ago,but sadly there is nothing on the horizon with real talent that should replace them.One articulate Kevin does not make a competent team.

Bob Carr was more articulate and clever than Kevin,but he destroyed NSW through sheer neglect.I see no talent beyond Kevin Rudd and even he is yet to prove his credentials.Labor under Gillard and Garret will destroy us.It was an ill planned union orchestrated by Labor in sheer desperation and bereft of talent.

The Crazy Grazier Malcolm,one feeble lefty,had an identity crisis,he should have joined the Labor Party.

I was intrigued by the comment
"At the swearing-in of the new parliament in 2004, fully half of his lower house Labor colleagues chose to take an affirmation rather than an oath on the Bible. Under these circumstances, it takes guts to declare that Christianity has a role in public and private life."

The fact that half Rudds colleagues chose an affirmation would suggest that the other half chose to swear on the bible. Why does it take guts in that situation to declare that christianity has a role in public and private life? What about the coalition - how many of them took an affirmation ( Abbott's comment leads me to suspect that it was a minority)? How much guts does it take to declare that your allegiance is not to the christain faith when a majority of your collegues don't do so, when the PM and a number of senior ministers are very open about their adherance to that faith?

That comment raises some interesting questions.

R0bert

Mr Rudd can claim religious beliefs if he wishes, I don't care. I care about 'morals' and transparency in politicians. Australia has a Federal Government funded, and State Government licensed 'Scheme', that is designed to take away the business rights of women, so I see no morals there. When three political parties can be 'involved' in a scam that price-fixes businesswomen onto horribly low fees, which are often below award rates - then I see no morals unless they are 'Fascist morals'. Parents also have their 'purchasing rights' removed when they were forced to purchase services from price-fixed business owners. I'm talking about the 'Approved' childcare benefit Scheme, for parents on low incomes that wish to purchase childcare from home-based childcare business owners. Mr Costello didn't have a 'childcare waiting list', he had a 'benefit waiting list'. He didn't uncap any childcare places, he uncapped a benefit waiting list and he only did that because I made him do it. A 'benefit waiting list' - how fascist was that? He still has the business 'cartels' price-fixed by force. I was put out of his 'Scheme' for asking the ACCC to take action.