Interest rate hike - a 'blunt instrument' with devastating impact on families
February 08, 2023
Yesterday's hike to interest rates is another 'kick in the guts' to families who are already struggling to make ends meet. Last year CPI increased by 8.6%, but wages only increased by 3.3%.
After 9 months of interest rate hikes, a family with a $600,000 mortgage is now faced with an additional $1,100 a month in repayments. This is a heavy burden for families already struggling to make ends meet in a high cost of living environment.
According to ABS statistics, the cost of essential goods are increasing at a far greater rate than non-essential items:
- 9.2% increase to food
- 10.7% increase to housing
- 8% increase to transport
- 5% increase to insurance costs
"The cost of housing, food and transport are sky-rocketing, families can't just decide to not put a roof over their heads, and the RBA is trying to reduce their spending power. Interest rates are a blunt instrument, and working families are carrying the heaviest burden of inflation, despite not being responsible for it."
"The RBA's narrow and short-sighted approach to inflation management is having an outsized and devastating effect on the most vulnerable members of our communities."
"We cannot continue to sacrifice the well-being of working families in some myopic attempt at inflation management. The Reserve Bank of Australia must take into account the real-life impacts of their decisions on the people who are already struggling to put food on the table."
"The RBA isn’t fulfilling its obligations to pursue full employment, and it must halt any further rate rises."
"Corporate price gouging and international supply chains are the drivers of inflation, not workers' wages. If we really want to get inflation under control then it's time to talk about corporate profit restraint."