From The Campaign Trail

I've previously mentioned the tremendous problems my own kids have, saving for a house deposit - it's the same for many Australians who cherish the dream of home of their own. Given the economic management hype of the Howard government you would think that most Australians would easily achieve that dream. Not so! As Shadow Treasurer Wayne Swan has consistently pointed out there is a now a crisis in housing affordability in Australia. Our Housing Affordability Index is at a record low and young people will need an income of about $115,000 to keep up with mortgage repayments on an average loan. The average home now costs seven times the average annual wage, up from four times the annual average wage in 1996. This surely tells us that John Howard is out of touch when he claims "....Australian families have never had it so good". You can access Wayne Swan's statement at: http://www.alp.org.au/media/0707/mstre120.php