Mr Nalder questions the Premier on whether increased cost-of-living charges contribute to WA's high mortgage delinquency rate. The Premier deflects, blaming the previous Liberal-National government's debt and fee increases.

AnsweredQoN 88Legislative Assembly
Asked
20 February 2020
Portfolio
Premier

QuestionView source ↗

STATE ECONOMY — MORTGAGE STRESS
88. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Mortgage defaults in Western Australia are forecast to be double the national
average for the next 12 months. Does the Premier now accept that his
mean-spirited $850 cost-of-living increase is a major contributor to the worst
rate of mortgage delinquency in the country?

AnswerView source ↗

We have put up fees and charges by
less than half of the increases put in place by the Liberal and National
Parties in their first three budgets. Members opposite came to office with the
lowest debt in history and they managed to put up fees and charges by record
amounts—electricity went up by 90 per cent—and left us with the
worst debt on record of any state in the history of the country on a per capita
basis. Clearly, we would love to alleviate the pressure on families to a greater
degree, and we will, but we have put up fees and charges by less than half of
what members opposite did when they were in government.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more