❓ Mr Nalder questions the Minister for Housing about Keystart interest rate increases in light of rising impairments and bad debts, suggesting the increase covers state government debts. The Minister defends Keystart's performance and highlights government support for Keystart borrowers.
AnsweredQoN 877Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
INTEREST RATES —
KEYSTART LOANS
877. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Minister for Housing:
I have a supplementary question.
Given that Keystart's impairments are up 44 per cent, bad debts are up
28 per cent and the value of mortgages under
safety net provisions are up 421 per cent, according to the annual report, why
did interest rates increase in 2018–19
over 2017–18 if it is not to cover the bad and doubtful debts of the
state government?
KEYSTART LOANS
877. Mr D.C. NALDER to the Minister for Housing:
I have a supplementary question.
Given that Keystart's impairments are up 44 per cent, bad debts are up
28 per cent and the value of mortgages under
safety net provisions are up 421 per cent, according to the annual report, why
did interest rates increase in 2018–19
over 2017–18 if it is not to cover the bad and doubtful debts of the
state government?
AnswerView source ↗
Again, I will draw the member's
attention to my answer to his first question about how the weighted
arrangements of the additional securitised $1.3 billion that the former
government sold off has had an impact on the total average interest rates. The other point the member needs
to remember, though, is that people who go into a Keystart mortgage provide only a two per cent deposit. The state carries a significant amount of
risk on that. They also do not pay lenders' mortgage insurance. If they
are going into a first home, they also get the benefit of the first homeowner's
grant and the discount on the transfer tax. The state government does a range
of things to support them. Inside Keystart, a significant team works to assist
those people who fall into hardship. I also ask the member to go back to his
numbers, because whilst he observed an increase in defaults and arrears, he
might look at where that base was. The Keystart has had a longstanding
below-industry average of default and arrears. It has been the best performing
mortgage book in the country—bar none. We will not take any criticism
of it.
The SPEAKER : That is the end
of question time.
attention to my answer to his first question about how the weighted
arrangements of the additional securitised $1.3 billion that the former
government sold off has had an impact on the total average interest rates. The other point the member needs
to remember, though, is that people who go into a Keystart mortgage provide only a two per cent deposit. The state carries a significant amount of
risk on that. They also do not pay lenders' mortgage insurance. If they
are going into a first home, they also get the benefit of the first homeowner's
grant and the discount on the transfer tax. The state government does a range
of things to support them. Inside Keystart, a significant team works to assist
those people who fall into hardship. I also ask the member to go back to his
numbers, because whilst he observed an increase in defaults and arrears, he
might look at where that base was. The Keystart has had a longstanding
below-industry average of default and arrears. It has been the best performing
mortgage book in the country—bar none. We will not take any criticism
of it.
The SPEAKER : That is the end
of question time.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.