The ABS released figures on Friday showing Australians in May had $1.001 trillion in debt. This is up from $886 billion in May last year.
Prime Minister John Howard is not concerned. He said, “I don’t think there is any particular magic in a particular figure, but when you talk about household debt, you should always look at household wealth as well. Sure, people have more debt but they have also got more wealth because their assets are more valuable. It is always wrong to look at one side of the equation.”
Maybe much of the increase in household assets have come from capital gains in property. Lets just hope the Housing bubble does not deflate, as this could cause assets to deflate, but for debt to remain the same.
» Howard defends $1 trillion debt figure – The Australia, 30th June 2007.