SENATOR DEAN SMITH
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE SHADOW TREASURER
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE COST OF LIVING
LIBERAL SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
4 March 2026
LABOR SEATS ACROSS AUSTRALIA ARE THE WORST AFFECTED BY ALBANESE GOVERNMENT’S MORTGAGE PAIN
New analysis has identified the top twenty suburbs across Australia most likely to be impacted by the Albanese Government’s inflation crisis – and that almost all of them are in Labor-held electorates.
The analysis of the most recent ABS Census data*, commissioned by Senator Dean Smith from the Federal Parliamentary Library, identifies those suburbs with the highest concentration of mortgages nationally.
Strathnairn in the ACT topped the list, with 85.4 percent of homes owned with a mortgage.
This was followed by the ACT’s Denman Prospect (78.2 percent); Brabham-Henley Brook in Perth’s north-east (75.5 percent); Melbourne’s Clyde North-South (73.8 percent); Piara Waters-Forrestdale in Perth’s south-east (72.7 percent), Googong in NSW (71.6 percent); and Flagstone West-New Beith outside of Brisbane (70.8 percent); Eynesbury-Exford near Melbourne (70.2 percent); and the suburbs of Taylor (70.0 percent), Throsby (69.4 percent), and Moncreiff (68.8 percent) in the ACT.
Completing the list were Marsden Park-Shanes Park in western Sydney and Fraser Rise-Plumpton in Melbourne (both 68.6 percent); Byford, south-east of Perth (68.4 percent); Landsdale in Perth’s north-west (68.1 percent); Mickleham-Yuroke outside Melbourne (67.7 percent); Harrisdale in WA (67.2 percent); Box Hill-Nelson, northwest of Sydney (67.1 percent), Aveley in Perth’s north-east (67.0 percent); and – at number 20 – Carramar in Perth’s north-west (66 percent).
Except for Flagstone (West)-New Beith and part of Clyde North-South, every other location on the list sits within a seat held by Federal Labor.
This includes four suburbs in the ACT electorate of Fenner, three in Burt in WA, two suburbs in WA’s Hasluck, and one suburb each in the electorates of Bean, Holt, Eden-Monaro, Hawke, Chifley, Gorton, Cowan, Calwell, Greenway, and Pearce.
Using the same Census data, the analysis tracks changes in mortgage repayments between August 2021 and February 2026, a period almost entirely under Labor Government.
In Strathnairn for example, median monthly mortgage repayments increased by $848 between August 2021 and January 2026 to $3,039.
Following the recent interest rate rise in February 2026, repayments rose by a further $84 – or $1,008 per year.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has reinforced the link between Government spending and inflation, with Governor Michele Bullock this week flagging that a rate increase in May 2026 is a “live option”.
Several leading economists have predicted up to four rate rises this year.
The Census Data analysis projects what mortgage repayments would look like if a further three rate increases of 25 basis points each occurred.
Median monthly repayments in Strathnairn would climb to $3,383 by January 2027, up a massive $1,192 from August 2021.
Because the Census baseline is from August 2021, the number of households now affected will be significantly higher, reflecting strong population growth and new housing construction across metropolitan growth corridors.
This pressure is compounded by the fact Australians are carrying larger mortgages than ever before.
Recent ABS Lending Indicators data shows the average home loan increased by $42,000 in the December quarter to $736,000.
Comments attributable to Senator Dean Smith:
“The Reserve Bank and economists are all advising there will be no interest rate relief in 2026.”
“The unfolding crisis in the Middle East will have inflationary impacts and, by failing to address inflation sooner, the Albanese Government has left Australian households vulnerable to mortgage repayment increases through further inflation and interest rate rises.”
“The data reveals that Labor voters will bear the cost of its inability to tame inflation and the interest rate rises that has led to.”
“This data analysis confirms two things: The massive increase in mortgage repayments Australians are shouldering under the Albanese Government and that the households worst impacted are the same ones Labor was elected to represent.”
“Cost of living issues will dominate the next Federal Election and Labor’s out of control spending and the inflation it fuels is hurting its own constituents.”
“Unless the Albanese Government restores fiscal discipline to the Budget, the Reserve Bank has made it clear that further interest rate rises are likely throughout this year.”
“This analysis reveals how dramatically each rate rise impacts the monthly repayments of Australian households – and the crippling pressure multiple increases in 2026 would put on them.”
*ABS Census, August 2021