https://www.rba.gov.au/media-releases/2026/mr-26-12.html
Yay for retirees, savers and people in secure jobs that are resistant to high borrowing costs.
Nay for mortgage holders and people in jobs that are more affected by high interest rates.
RBA Hikes Cash Rate from 4.1% to 4.35%
scalebearer on 05/05/2026 - 14:46
Last edited 05/05/2026 - 14:46
Last edited 05/05/2026 - 14:46
Related Stores
Comments
No need to stop immigration just reduce it a lot and change the types of migrants.
Nurse - good.
UberEats driver - bad.
prob since around 2016 tbh
and remove everyones eyes and we'd be even more screwed. Migration is a tap that won't be turned off, so there's no point talking about it.
and remove everyones eyes and we'd be even more screwed. Migration is a tap that won't be turned off, so there's no point talking about it.
Ironically its not hard vote for parties that want to reduce migration
We've been in an unofficial one for awhile now.
Hopefully house prices come down and there are more options available, as it’s becoming very unaffordable nearly everything is approaching $1 million making it increasingly difficult for first-time buyers to purchase their first home (as salaries are low and house prices are very high).
The problem is ppl like you who wants to buy when the price comes down, aka there’s still plenty of demand but still no supply, you have essentially put a floor on how low price can go. Has been the case for last 40 years.
You can keep dreaming. So owners sell the house and start renting and investors buy them and rent at higher prices? And the cycle continues. Prices are more to do with supply and demand.
Exactly supply and demand is the bigger issue here, doesn't help that the war has increased building costs too. People expecting a crash will be dissapointed…
"hopefully house prices come down"
The song of those waiting on the sidelines for the last 20 years as prices did the exact opposite.
Still waiting for someone (since the likes of Lowe and Bullock and many posters here can't) to explain how this rate is realistically going to stop companies like Coles, Woolworths, banks, servos and other suppliers not increasing their prices anyway cos of fuel prices and people will still be buying the goods.
Still waiting for someone (since the likes of Lowe and Bullock and many posters here can't) to explain how this rate is realistically going to stop companies like Coles, Woolworths, banks, servos and other suppliers not increasing their prices anyway cos of fuel prices and people will still be buying the goods.
people spend their additional income on their repayments - thus cant afford to buy other things Coles and all the other over paid wank job businesses have to lower prices or keep price still to clear out stock.
the entire system is based on screwing over people struggling to make ends meet thus so they spend less and it benefits those who have s—t loads of money
thus is another example of why government spending beyond their tax collected revenue is a s—t thing
people spend their additional income on their repayments - thus cant afford to buy other things Coles and all the other over paid wank job businesses have to lower prices or keep price still to clear out stock.
But there's only about one third of households with mortgages. Over a third of Australian households own their homes outright and many of them are old and retired or nearing retirement and have nothing better to do with themselves than spend. Many of them can't afford as many overseas holidays any more (bloody oil prices) so they are spend spend spending on hedonistic pursuits domestically.
This is the issue, and even that one third, how many of them have small mortgages just keeping it alive for other benefits instead of paying it all off. The % of people who will stop spending are also the ones who are already struggling, so they have less and everyone else will continute on their merry way. Its common sense really, only people who are already struggling are the ones who will struggle more. The ones who arent struggling dont care about these rate hikes, they still keep spending. Most of my friends have several properties and have not at all been affected by interest rate hikes, they still spend as much as they ever did. This system does not work unless a vast majority of people have got large mortgages.
But dont worry, there will always be some people to say that we dont understand economics…. when its just common sense.
@lonewolf: Yes exactly, the common sense realities don't really seem present. Like some of the arguments make it sound like they think Coles and Woolies and servos are now shaking in their boots that they shouldn't pass on all these transport and wages and (any excuse really) costs onto consumers cos interest rates went up?
Or farmers supplying domestic essentials already paying more for their inputs and pass on costs cos rates went up?
I don't know anyone who will do "oh public transport is free/reduced let's go spend all that extra money on some discretionary thing" or that price setters look at that and think "oh good we can keep increasing the price."
These places would rather just throw out expired goods (for example) than change their price inputs that actually go into the figures. Airlines don't reduce prices they just reduce services. I may like shopping for shorted dated meat bargains, doubt the RBA is looking at those.
But there's only about one third of households with mortgages
This is sort of incorrect as there is also there are different types of credit then just home loans, credit cards etc these are also affected by rate changes
1 3rd of loans in Australia are business loans
Also the savings rate rising discourages spending as it is more attractive to keep your money in the bank
Australian households own their homes outright and many of them are old and retired or nearing retirement
This is true and i agree it isnt fair itbis called a K economy but the majority of voters are not retired and they voted for a this government who spends like crazy
You get what you vote for and interest rates are a direct result of government spending and migration policies
Dont cry now people voted for a far left wing party with high spending policies
Stupidity like the 5% deposit scheme won votes - Australians are learning why socialism doesnt work at hand.
Many of them can't afford as many overseas holidays any more (bloody oil prices) so they are spend spend spending on hedonistic pursuits domestically.
If they cant afford to go oversea they arent the rich people we are talking about
Also lastly those retirees had the same shit system against them in their youth as all the wank boomers say interest rates were 21% and annoying as it is they arent wrong
For the most part i agree the system isnt really fair but ultimately it is why you dont want you government spending your money you cant trust them and ultimately you pay for it and usually it is those who cant afford it most that pay for it - wait till neg gearing goes the renters in the country will be f—ked
Simple rule to live by anyone saying we will tax ultra wealthy people properly is full of shit it might sound nice grab headlines but it is a lie- government can only hit middle class and lower class thus is what this government is doing killing the middle class to have 2 class system and pretty much historically how all socialist societies end up
Also lastly those retirees had the same shit system against them in their youth as all the wank boomers say interest rates were 21% and annoying as it is they arent wrong
21% interest on three pence, a handful of buttons and a ball of wool to pay for a post-war fibro clad shack on a 1/4 acre is much much less than 21% on $800k for the exact same house now 'worth' $1.2M with original finishes but on less than 1/8 acre because the property has been subdivided (i.e. a dilapidated post-war fibro clad shack).
Mortgage payments, including the interest component, are a function of interest rates AND principal outstanding. Interest rates may have been 3.5x current rates, but today the principal is around 10x to 20x.
interest rates are a direct result of government spending and migration policies
Not quite.
interest rates are result of RBA decision making in response to inflation which is a direct result of a general increase in spending including government spending, but driven primarily by primarily mass migration policies… Several million more people —> massive ongoing and sustained spike in demand for everything —> prices go up + wages stagnate
So much for Labor being the workers party.
So much for Labor being the workers party.
No party is for the 'working man' esp not the Greens or ALP
Not quite.
it is exactly what is driving inflation the RBA governor who was put in by this government has even said it is it isnt an opinion it is legit why we are seeing rate hikes
https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/d…
If you dont like news.com.au you can always go directly to the RBA press conference and watch it but their is a pretty good summery here - if only ABC offered decent journalism people might realise socialism is bullshit
@Checkmate3023: Let's go to the horse's mouth…Specifically, page 29 of the Statement on Monetary Policy:
Private investment increased strongly over 2025,
and by more than expected in the February
Statement. Dwelling investment growth was strong
over the year, which likely reflects a range of factors
including the lagged effects of earlier strong population
growth and monetary policy easing, and an easing in
construction sector capacity constraints at the start of
2025. This strong growth contributed to the return of
capacity pressures in the construction sector and higher
new dwellings inflation in the second half of last year.For those reading along at home, this basically means:
A shit tonne too many people came to Australia recently, and they need things to live so that's driving driving demand for stuff in general, especially housing and there is also a slow down in the construction of new dwellings, so that's a double whammy for house prices and rents.
Oh and if that wasn't bad enough, let's see page 57:
The tightness in the labour market is
expected to ease over the forecast
period.Oh that sounds good, doesn't it? Well no, not really if you're a working person. It's actually just economist lingo for: unemployment is about to go up. So not only are we importing too many people at a time when there are not enough houses, but it is expected that the current rate of net migration is going to continue (see page 64 forecast assumptions) AND that in turn that is going to rapidly cause unemployment to spike.
And people say the ALP is the worker's party. Their policies for mass migration are certainly not in Australian workers' best interests.
But there's only about one third of households with mortgages.
When interest rates increase, does it only affect variable rate home loans?
Would increased interest rates affect things like credit cards, variable rate personal or car loans?
I'm also wondering if the interest rate increases would also extend to these products for new borrowers making it that much harder to replace the old broken down car etc.
the entire system is based on screwing over people struggling to make ends meet
Unbelievable! Inpossible! I thought Labor was supposed to look after people struggling to make ends meet. I must have got it wrong…
Cheapest 3 litre milk went from $4.50 to $5.15 already. Maybe time to start drinking black coffee.
Maybe time to start drinking black coffee.
It's not that desparate yet. But I have stopped having lattes. Only flat whites now. I'm withering away. /s
The simple principle is to lower spending power, which will lower demand, which will lead to fewer sales, which will disincentivise businesses from raising prices.
When the reserve cash rate goes up, it gets more expensive to borrow.
Mortgage holders
Mortgage holders have to dedicate more money to repayments, which gives them less money to spend on goods and services, which lowers sales for businesses, which disincentivises them from raising prices.
Businesses
Businesses are impacted by increased borrowing costs. They may delay expansion plans or shrink their workforce. This means more unemployment, which in turn means less spending power. Lower spending power = lower demand = lower inflation.
Savers
Some argue that having extra money from higher interest rates on savings means older people with paid off housing will spend more.
The way it is supposed to work is to encourage more people to stow away their spare money in the higher interest accounts, whereas lowering the rate encourages spending, since you're getting less money from keeping it in there.
Spending less = less demand = disincentive for businesses to raise prices.
Harsh medicine, but historically proven to work
Obviously it can feel like harsh medicine, but high inflation takes everyone backwards, because you can buy less with the money you have, even if the nominal amount does not change.
Just talk to an older person who was around during the 70s and 80s to see what double digit inflation is like.
https://www.rba.gov.au/inflation-overview.html
To answer your question directly
how this rate is realistically going to stop companies like Coles, Woolworths, banks, servos and other suppliers not increasing their prices anyway cos of fuel prices and people will still be buying the goods.
When people have less money to spend, they tend to cut back. Businesses are disincentivised to raise prices when demand drops. It's as simple as that. It's not about being politically correct.
Fuel example
Someone driving a big heavy SUV in an aggressive manner who doesn't actually utilise the full capabilities and largely uses it to drive around 1 person with very little luggage will be incentivised to switch to a small hatchback is more fuel efficient and does the same job.
EVs can also be an option once more Chinese EV companies bring more small, cheap, efficient cars to our market.
Groceries example
https://www.comparethemarket.com.au/news/how-many-australian…
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/aussie-shoppers-in-home-…
If you look at these articles, you'll find that more people are switching to generic brands wherever they can to save money.
If you're snobby about going with name brands, then this may be confronting to you, but once again, the RBA and the cash rate's job is not to be politically correct, it's to control inflation.
It's not about being "nice". If you read the history of when politicians have direct control over the cash rate, they find it very easy to cut it, but very difficult to raise it, even in the face of rampant inflation. That's why you delegate that role to an independent governor.
Psychological aspects of inflation
It's also worth noting that there is a very slippery slope if you let inflation or deflation get out of control.
For example, if people were to get used to inflation over 5% or even double digits longer term, they would expect their employers to give pay rises in that range just to keep even with inflation, which in turn leads to increased labour costs for the business, which incentivises them to raise prices, which further incentivises other people consuming those goods or services to try and get pay rises just to keep even with inflation, and so on.
There would also be very little incentive to save, since your spending power is draining away so quickly, you may as well as bring forward certain purchases, which increases demand.
Because some people may try to "get ahead" of inflation via preemptive pay rises and business may try to "get ahead" by raising prices early, this directly contributes to and compounds the inflation problem even more.
This would quickly spiral out of control and you would end up like Argentina before Milei was elected.
As for deflation, if people believed that prices would consistently decrease long term, they would be incentivised to keep their spending to a bare minimum, since your spending power is increasing every day you don't spend your money.
This would lead to fewer sales for businesses, which will incentivise them to cut back on staff, which will cause a further decrease in spending power, which will further incentivise other businesses to also cut back and so on.
This is why most developed countries around the world aim to keep inflation at around 2%. Enough to give people a small push to go spend, but not have prices running away from them.
You cannot spend your way out of an inflation crisis
Governments may be tempted to give hand outs to help people weather the storm, but that only adds to demand, which leads to more inflation.
Once again, a fuel example
The fuel excise cuts from the government caused a downwards spike in fuel prices, but it was quickly eaten up since it incentivised people to top up before the prices went back up, which in turn causes the price to go back up, but now the government is collecting less tax.
It makes the government look like it is helping, but they are actually making the problem worse.
Instead, they should have used the money spent from cutting fuel excise on subsidising EV purchases, because that would permanently decrease the reliance on fossil fuels.
Same argument with subsidising state governments to make public transport cheap or free.
It doesn't matter if public transport or EVs are not an option for everyone. Permanently decreasing demand on fossil fuels also makes life better for those who have no choice but to rely on them, such as in the rural or regional areas or tradies anywhere who have no choice but to drive their utes around.
Energy example
The energy rebates the government gave people in the 2nd half of their 2022-2025 term made it look like they were trying to help, but in reality it just caused a spike in energy prices and you quickly end up back where you started before the subsidy.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/labor-s-dilemma-inflation…
In 2023, state and federal governments introduced energy bill rebates to help households when inflation peaked at around 8 per cent and cost of living pressures were at their highest.
…
Economists say this has only postponed the inflation problem and they have urged the government to end the rebates, given their high cost to the budget and distortionary impact on inflation.
That's why they stopped the subsidy after their re-election, since they know it doesn't work and worsens inflation.
A lot of people tend to struggle with the idea of government spending restraint during an inflation crisis, which is why governments always struggle to explain that the best way to help people with inflation is, in a way, to not help them.
Looping back to what I said earlier: This is why control of the cash rate is given to an independent governor, not politicians.
Looping back to what I said earlier: This is why control of the cash rate is given to an independent governor, not politicians.
That's all well and good. But then the government goes ahead and imports another 2 x Hobarts worth of people this year who all need food, clothing, housing, transport, electronics, furniture, nick knacks, etc. This fuels a general and sustained increase in demand for goods and services. Prices consequently go up which shows up in inflation figures. "Suck on that independent RBA governor".
What recession?
If Albo had the balls like Keating then he would just come out and say it "The recession we had to have"
I feel like i can wear the 0.25% bump… it gets challenging when you stack everything else on top, e.g., petrol, bills, groceries, etc.
I've also looked at my amortisation schedule and gees the interest to principle ratio at the start of the loan is sobering. I'm trying to understand it a bit more… For simplicity, lets say a year of payments totals 100K, of which 75K is interest and 25K is principle… Does that mean, in that year, a $5 coffee is actually costing me $20 (assuming the $5 stays in the offset for the life of the loan), because I could have put that $5 into the offset to reduce the interest charged on the principle? obviously the rate saved would reduce as more of the principle gets paid…
Chat GPT essentially said no… but then i looked at it another way, $5 at 6% per annum x 25 years, i.e., 5×(1.06)25 = $21.46 (maturity at 2051, note: the purchasing power of $21.46 in 25 years time will be less than today's purchasing power)
At the 15th year mark, the amount would be different $5 at 6% per annum x 15 years, i.e., 5×(1.06)15 = $11.98
Am I on the right track with these figures?
Yes, putting more money into paying off a loan now yields large savings later on.
The catch is the figure of 'pay an extra $5 now, save $10+ later on' is always given before inflation. This latter part is never mentioned in popular media.
I also take issue with finance bros stating giving up a small amount of spending now will yield $1M by the time you retire (invested in the stock market, 8% long term return, etc). While the figure may be right, a million dollars in 30 years will buy a lot less than it does today.
I was hoping for .40% hike to round the cash rate to 4.5%
How high will it go before they stop ?
rates are very low still
Very low? Brother…
You know how they say "you're going to feel a whole lot worse before you start to feel better"?
Hold on tight because I believe that what we've got right now is as good as it's ever going to get unless we turn everything off and just reboot the whole world.
I doubt that even Batman could save us now…
In 1988, interest rates were about 13%, variable rate up to 15% on 15/10/88 (that's how I remember that rate) rising to 17%(ish) by Jan 1990 where it held for two or three years before moving down to around 9% mid 90's.
In the back of my mind, 10% has seemed to be the sweet point/ball park since release of no fault divorce in 1974. (May not be statistically true, just what it feels like to me, so what I've always aimed to budget for).
With this in mind and the downward spiral our world seems to be experiencing since the beginning of the century, with one disaster happening one after the other, I advise my own kids to budget for the 10% ballpark, because lately the powers that be seem to be committed to setting the world on fire and then when not adding more fuel to the fire, they're just content with sitting back and watching it burn.
In 1984 we had "Feed the World" talking about starvation in third world countries. Here we are, forty years on, fighting starvation in first world countries.
Anytime soon, those third world countries are going to be flying overhead dropping food relief packages off for Australia.
I can't remember the last time we had anybody who seemed to know how to run a chook raffle at the pub, far less an entire country and things don't really seem to be improving because of a combination of factors, the major two being general incompetence combined with increasing situations of once in a hundred years events those incompetents were forced to manage on the fly (literally making shit up as they went).
Maybe our leaders really are quite good and have just had to deal with constant unprecedented events on the fly (so in reactive mode as opposed to pro active mode) because of globalisation and butterfly effect etc…
In 1988, interest rates were about 13%
That's one metric in a sea of others. Families were majority single income households. Houses were 3-4x the annual salary. Today is a very different story.
Interest rates at 10%+ would literally destroy mortgage holders and change the entire economics of housing in australia, for the worse. hello blackrock owning half the houses.
@coffeeinmyveins: I responded to somebody asking how high could the rates go followed up by asking if current rates are still quite low.
My response went something like "things are going to get much worse, we've seen rates rise as high as 17% odd in the past but I work with an estimate of about 10%, so my advise is to budget for that ballpark…
If it doesn't get there, well and good, but it's not like anything that suggest is actually going to influence anything.
Economics of housing in Australia has already changed for the worse and I don't believe that we've hit rock bottom yet.
@Muppet Detector: 17% of two buttons, a ball of wool and 3 pence for a brand new post-war fibro shack on a quarter acre block is much less than 5% of $1 million on the same fibro shack with original finishes (i.e. dilapidated) but now on 1/8 acre (because it was subdivided at some point).
@tenpercent: I am not making any argument that we "had it worse in the old days", only that historical figures reached that high, though 10%(ish) seemed to be the sweet spot where things seemed to average themselves out at (give or take a few %), thus suggesting that there is still quite a lot of room for upwards movements from the current 5%(ish).
@tenpercent: Well, that's the third time I've now had to clarify that, it's just weird to me that people keep questioning it.
Like? My crystal ball is broken, so my best option for predicting the future is to look at what's happened in the past.
My initial response to "how high will interest rates go? And isn't 4.5% very high"?
In 1988, interest rates were about 13%, variable rate up to 15% on 15/10/88 (that's how I remember that rate) rising to 17%(ish) by Jan 1990 where it held for two or three years before moving down to around 9% mid 90's.
In the back of my mind, 10% has seemed to be the sweet point/ball park since release of no fault divorce in 1974. (May not be statistically true, just what it feels like to me, so what I've always aimed to budget for).
With this in mind and the downward spiral our world seems to be experiencing since the beginning of the century, with one disaster happening one after the other, I advise my own kids to budget for the 10% ballpark,
If we budget for 10%, but it never reaches that high, then we won't feel very much pain if interest rates do continue to rise (which I am positive that they will).
But if we're thinking that things will flatline or peak at 5%, I believe that those people will end up in a world of pain.
This government is going to be there at least another 2 years. They
spendwaste money (taxpayers' money) like a drunken sailor that has just received his pay.
6% is very likely.
Then possibly LNP will get back and they will cut spending to the bone and remove tax cuts
More pain.
They are just taking turns in f'ing up Australia.
And people just keep voting them in…
They never delivered the promised surplus last time they were in power. Debt grew to record highs. Labor delivered one in their first term and didn't even promise one.
Labor delivered one in their first term and didn't even promise one.
Only by accident. Not through anything they had very much control over. In short, they experienced a perfect storm where multiple factors unexpectedly coincided to provide that very temporary illusion.
Examples:
Unexpected surge in demand for our exports of natural resources resulting in record breaking tax receipts, particularly from the mining sector.
Wind back of emergency supports and payments following Covid which ended up being a lot less than they originally committed to.
International borders reopened resulting in explosion in domestic spending as domestic economy returned to pre COVID levels
unusually low unemployment rates resulting in more tax collected and less welfare expenditure than expected.
Sure, the illusion of the first surplus since before the global financial crisis in about 2008 seems quite impressive (particularly two years in a row) at first glance, but it's easy to rob Peter to pay Paul when there's no intention to put any effort into continuing that surplus with the return to usual market conditions.
In saying that, kudos to current govt for starting to get ndis under control. Media suggests they've intercepted multiple fraudsters, but in saying that, they're really only fixing the broken framework that the Gillard govt created in the first place…
@Muppet Detector: It's still a surplus, just like how Steve Bradbury is a gold medal winner. You can debate how it happened, but it still goes in the record books.
Labor delivered one in their first term and didn't even promise one.
Great. Go for Labor then
I am quite happy with interest rates rises. 8% would be perfect.
This government is going to be there at least another 2 years. They spend waste money (taxpayers' money) like a drunken sailor that has just received his pay.
They're spending money that they don't even have. At least the drunken sailor stops spending once he runs out of money…
LNP went to the last election with a plan for higher spending than labor. I hope they wake the F up and have sensibl3 policies for the next election.
How high will it go before they stop ?
How high can you count? Historical interest rates might be an indicator.
few more rises during this yr!
Do you remember Qintex?
How high interest will go was the recurrent question from Christopher Skase.A lot higher was the answer and bankruptcy followed …
It depends on how long this clowns show government manages to stay there.
It depends on how long this clowns show government manages to stay there.
Just remember this teasurer said he defeated inflation pre election….
Don't worry. Now he is going to address "intergenerational unfairness".
Tax some people more and…that's it. No benefit for the others.
Just more money for the government to waste.Just more money for the government to waste
Australia learning they hard way despite capitalism being not overly fair it is a mile better then socialism - esp for poor people ironically
@Checkmate3023: Socialism?
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money"
But this is not socialism.
It is champagne socialism, where the ones running the show drink champagne paid for with the tax on beer they impose on the populace.champagne socialism
One and same - you cant trust anyone else with your money (bar yourself)
@Mad Max: In a nutshell.
Unfortunately, so many in Australia (as reflected on OzB) think that socialism is the answer to our problems, when it really isn't. Meaning that things will have to get worse before they get better.
so many in Australia (as reflected on OzB) think that socialism is the answer to our problems
Funny enough they are the ones that are getting screwed the most.
Karma?
Even though I'm a mortgage holder, we need interest rates to be higher. Way too much exuberance for not much proof of productivity in Australia in the last 16 years.
0.25% is far from a hike….. Increase yes, hike? no.
Every journey begins with just one step…
U have to add this to the previous 12?
Still not a 'hike' from current levels.
"Doctor" Jim at it again.
It's almost like we were still running too hot when they dropped it the first time to pump their property prices…
Hike!!! Hell, not even close.
25%…50% is a Hike.
0.25% is but a ripple.
Sensationalist headlining not welcome here, we leave that to FaKeBooK, News.crap.au and Yahoo etc.
Outside of hyperinflation or war, you will never see a 25% interest rate rise.
I agree that 0.25% is low and doesn't merit the word 'hike'. It's also worth noting that raising interest rates from the current low level of 4.35% to, say, 8% would cause millions of Australians to default on home, business, and car loans. It's not the 1980s anymore where people could weather 17% mortgage rates.
7% rate would collapse the aus economy
What about 10%?
If they start getting to these levels / higher don't be surprised if you see 40/50 year loan terms
Great for rich people, as we can read from these comments.
The rest of the country already stripped to the bare minimum in spending the last couple of years, prices of everything sky high and it's gonna go up again because companies will blame the interest rates. We're already hungry half the time, how is us buying less milk gonna fight inflation against someone buying a new tesla?It saddens me that Australians are going hungry. Do they have Oxfam ads on tv in Africa yet to sponsor feeding Australians?
Sorry to hear of your situation by the way.The sentiment you've expressed so graphically by bravely sharing your own circumstances highlights the growing divide in living standards in this country. It is despicable that so many Australians are experiencing a worse quality of life than their parents' generations did, and not for lack of effort or anything within their own direct control. And it highlights how fiddling with interest rates isn't going to resolve the situation because so many are shieled from or unfazed by them going up.
Perhaps the government should deal with the root cause for the mass inflation we're experiencing.
We're already hungry half the time, how is us buying less milk gonna fight inflation
Are you literally experiencing regular food shortages/hunger, or do you mean "the general we" as in the general population?
Sorry was unclear, I'm meaning the general population is cutting back heavily. More fillers like bread/pasta/soup, stuffing kids with muesli bars to fill them up. Def not eating as nutritiously as can be. Cutting activities in general, being confined to home & work.
I have a real fear this is not going to fix itself any time soon, and personally AI will take my job within 5 years probably, and many others.
I don't feel the gov can/will help the bulk of us.
Ok, good to know. Was just checking you were OK in case you needed a hand.
Stay safe.
AI will take my job within 5 years probably, and many others.
And we will have millions more people in the country by that point too. There's only going to be so many AI and robotics insulated work that will remain. At that point we will all collectively realise "oh shit, now we have mass unemployment and have to pay welfare to millions more people than we otherwise would have had we slowed down on the immigration earlier". It's only going to get worse. Much much worse.
Merged from So RBA Has Raised Rates Again and Blaming Petrol Prices
Everything is already over the roof, you buy a lot more with a lot less hence you are spending more money on things.
Not because people are splashing things on fashion or ubereats or whatever. Spending more on things which are necessary for the everyday life.
Petrol is one big factor. It’s not like we get anything economically out of it when you still need to start that car everyday
So how is this helping the average wage workers out there?
Not because people are splashing things on fashion or ubereats or whatever. Spending more on things which are necessary for the everyday life.
Where does Lego fit into this
Spending more on things which are necessary for the everyday life.
Like a newer and biggerest and thirstierest 4X4/pickup truck!!
Spending more on things which are necessary for the everyday life.
Please don’t blame the parent spending a little to make their child happy.
Cue the final demise of our housing market. Not after everyone strapped themselves in at 5% deposits.
?
So how is this helping the average wage workers out there?
The RBA's job is not to help out the average wage worker, it's to keep the economy steady and interest rates help do that by whacking down the average wage worker and making them spend less so demand lessens and inflation gets back under control. Even better, as a bunch of people lose their jobs it restricts spending further still, they travel less, consume less of everything. A rise in unemployment is great for monetary policy when the economy is overcooked.
The flip side of keeping interest rates flat or even lowering inflation rates to "help people out" is that it just adds fuel to the fire. Corporations are greedy and will just vacuum that money straight back out of people and keep prices going higher still. The government always tries to be the "good guys" and offer tax cuts, refunds, etc but they're really not helping the problem. It helps win votes though.
So RBA Has Raised Rates Again and Blaming Petrol Prices
the treasurer is blaming fuel which is a lie - trimmed mean is 3.3% above the band the trim mean takes out things like fuel - the rate hike is due to government spending
the Treasurer is a disgrace and in all honesty if Albo was true to his pre-election promise of holding his ministers accoutable he would sack Jim Chalmbers as Teasurer he has failed the Australian people
the economy is cooked due to the government and the government alone - thus if you voted for this socialist govt or any party that preferences them this is on you
I saw the treasurers speech after the RBA announcement, absolute disgrace that he mentioned 3 times “this is not due to government spending” after the RBA has called out government spending!
Then blames fuel prices, ignoring the trim inflation data.
Goes on to blame the private sector for growing to quickly!
Absolute no idea, it was 4 mins of repeated punch lines that the government took absolute zero blame for.
I guess the government removing CGT and negative gearing will tame inflation with less money swirling around the economy, that’s if the government doesn’t spend it!
I guess the government removing CGT and negative gearing will tame inflation with less money swirling around the economy, that’s if the government doesn’t spend it!
it will do the opposite as less investments are 'appealing' and you cant 'trust' this government not to shift the goal post more people will spend their money on shit opposed to saving it - this government is terrible its 'war' on the rich has actually hurt the poor and rich and the country and 'benefited' no one - reminds me of the moron state Vic ALP government
honestly he is the worst treasurer i have ever seen - he should of come out and said listen we have obviously been running the economy too hot are going to have to 'work with the RBA' and cut spending i know it will be hard but not taming inflation is simply worse
that’s if the government doesn’t spend it!
They have already spent it. $1 trillion debt…and raising.
I guess the government removing CGT and negative gearing will tame inflation with less money swirling around the economy, that’s if the government doesn’t spend it!
They're bad. But they're not completely stupid.
They will grandfather it in for themselves and all the boomers and x-ers. Just another freebie their generations got and then withdrew for everyone else after they had done with it.
Let’s be honest!
Who here will absolutely struggle to pay mortgage now that rate gone up?Who will absolutely be unable to pay if it goes up a tad bit higher?
Who will be somehow make it work but not so happy?
Anyone who can't handle a few .25% interest rate rises has over-borrowed, and this is the problem with the housing market. People are infested by the mindset that borrowing beyond a reasonable amount is normal.
However, it is still unfair of the RBA to let prices rise so far before trying to rein them in. Same with COVID.
The interest rate rises are always are too late. RBA is again reacting retroactively to things that have already happened. Housing prices are through the roof, then buyers are punished retroactively. On top of that, there is also the possibility that we are running head-on into a recession due to the temporarily increasing prices (from the Iran war), higher interest rates, and lack of spending by consumers. Seems maybe a bad time to increase rates.
I watched the press conference yesterday. RBA governor made several basic grammar mistakes that are not reflective of a knowledgeable, intelligent, educated person who reads books. People in executive positions often achieve their position via their loud mouth and ability to boss people around, not on pure competence or intelligence. It is very unfortunate that we do not have forward-looking people running the economy so that we don't get into these holes.
Furthermore, the federal government's migration strategy is at odds with the RBA's goal to reduce inflation. High migration is an economic strategy of Australian governments to continuously keep the economy growing, which looks good on paper, and can increase employment. It generally achieves these goals, but this is precisely one of the main causes of inflation, and it is why we have had a per-capita recession for years. In other words, the average Australian is seeing a continuous decline in their quality of life (the purchasing power of their income continuously declines, while increased pressure on housing, traffic, and limited infrastructure impacts their day-to-day life).
Who will be somehow make it work but not so happy?
In other words: whose standard of living will decline because of the general and sustained increase in demand for things due to importing 2x Hobarts worth of people every year for the past 4 years?
Who here will absolutely struggle to pay mortgage now that rate gone up?
The people you mates in governments gave home loans to with 5% deposits came to mind…..
The best thing about yesterday was seeing both Jacinta Allan and Jim Chambers try blame Trump for Australias problems despite both inflation and Victorias debt being a problem before Trump was even re-elected LMAO
dead set idiots!
Allan is an idiot but so is Trump. Chalmers is working with what he has.
@corvusman: I thought it was fairly obvious. They are in a better position than we are, yet people denigrate it just because they don't have "gDp gOEz up Lol".