The Mortgage belt is a term used in

Australian politics The politics of Australia take place within the framework of a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system under its Constitution, one of the world's oldest, since F ...

to signify residential suburbs which have a high concentration of families mortgaging their homes. Often the belt covers areas where homes could be considered more affordable yet the cost of servicing the

mortgage loan A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

represents a high proportion of the families' available income. Changes to cost of servicing a mortgage, seen through interest rate fluctuations, can trigger widespread satisfaction or dissatisfaction towards the government of the day. In the 2004 federal election, the media played up the narrative the mortgage belt voted highly in favour of the Coalition, in fear that economic management under the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

could increase interest rates. The Coalition ran a fear campaign on the issue and this became one of the keystones which helped it win a successive fourth term. However, it is generally agreed that governments have little control over interest rates, which are set by the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. Th ...

. There is little evidence in the

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

literature to support the media's narrative for the mortgage belt making negative economic assessments of the Labor Party instead leader effects had a far larger impact on vote choice with a significant effect for negative assessments of the Labor leader,

Mark Latham Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator, currently serving as a member in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and ...

, on the defection of Labor partisans to the Coalition. In March 2005, interest rates rose by a quarter of a percent. Mortgage belt areas played a significant role in the 2007 election where Labor won back many mortgage belt Liberal strongholds won in the 1996 election due to general disaffection with the incumbent government as well as high interest rates. The term has also seen use in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

by political and economic commentators.

References

{{Politics of Australia, state=autocollapse Political terminology in Australia

Belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practit ...

Belt regions

See also

References