Since 1995 the price of new cars has barely risen in Australia, which is one of the reasons why, despite stagnant wages, the love affair endures
- Greg Jericho is a Guardian Australia columnist
Australians remain more than ever a nation of car lovers, the latest census of car ownership released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals. The latest snapshot comes at a time where a record number of new cars are being sold, and suggests that consumers remain willing to splurge on a new car – even in light of record low wages growth.
Perhaps the silliest thing about Joe Hockey’s comment in 2014 that “the poorest people either don’t have cars or actually don’t drive very far in many cases” is not that it revealed his understanding of economics lacked rigour, but that it showed him to be very naive about Australians’ love of cars.
Related: New ‘experimental’ data shows an increase in people working two jobs | Greg Jericho
Related: Bill Shorten’s inequality pitch has rustled the jimmies of conservatives | Greg Jericho