New research has revealed that more than 50 per cent of households with a mortgage in Tasmania are deemed to be in mortgage stress - with the 7250 postcode leading the list with more than 4700 households suffering from "mortgage stress".
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Released by consumer group CHOICE, the data from Digital Finance Analytics also revealed the 7249 postcode ranked as the seventh highest in Tasmania - with almost 1400 households feeling the pinch.
Banking policy expert Patrick Veyret said mortgage stress is a measure that tracks a household's finances and calculates whether people are consistently going into debt to service their mortgage.
"If household expenses are greater than income, they are classed as stressed," he said.
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"Tasmania was once one of the most affordable places in the country to live and now communities like Launceston are living on the brink".
Mr Veyret said that while the early sign's of the country's post-COVID recovery were promising, many families are struggling facing underemployment and stagnant wage growth with government support wound back.
The data comes as the federal government is struggling to gain support in the Senate to axe safe lending laws, with crossbench senators announcing they won't support the policy.
"Axing safe lending would be disastrous for the Tasmanian community and economy. People across the state are already doing it tough, they don't need to be burdened with more reckless bank lending," Mr Veyret said.
Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie is the latest to join that list, saying the legislation is "dead in the water".
"This bill's always been about giving the banks the chance to cut themselves a bigger slice of the pie," Senator Lambie said.
"That's a non-starter for me. They need a choker chain, not a permission slip.
"I won't be helping the boys' club at the big end of town".
Senator Lambie said the banks were already making "sky-high" profits for their shareholders.
The Liberals should be backing battlers over the banks.
- Senator Jacqui Lambie
"Nobody's recommending this, nobody supports this, it flies in the face of the recommendations of the Royal Commission and it's going to cause all sorts of grief if I let it get through.
"I won't do it.
"It's dead in the water."
Hearing Senator Lambie's comments, Mr Veyret said he was happy to see her stand up for Tasmanian households doing it tough.
"Senator Jacqui Lambie has a strong history of standing up for consumer protections against the power of the big banks," he said.
"The Banking Royal Commission was clear: lenders routinely broke safe lending laws and trapped people into unaffordable loans.
"Commissioner Hayne recommended that safe lending laws be enforced, not dismantled."
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Ebony Abblitt
Ebony Abblitt is a features writer at the Examiner in Launceston, with an interest in pets, politics and people. | ebony.abblitt@examiner.com.au
Ebony Abblitt is a features writer at the Examiner in Launceston, with an interest in pets, politics and people. | ebony.abblitt@examiner.com.au
