{"id":4617,"date":"2023-03-09T16:34:18","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T16:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=4617"},"modified":"2023-03-09T16:34:18","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T16:34:18","slug":"budget-cuts-to-counter-allied-booby-traps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/asia\/asia-pacific\/australian-news\/budget-cuts-to-counter-allied-booby-traps\/2023\/03\/09\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Budget cuts to counter Allied ‘booby traps’"},"content":{"rendered":"

CANBERRA (Brussels Independent with AAP) Dr. Majid Khan -Households<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> warned<\/span> to<\/span> prepare<\/span> for<\/span> federal<\/span> budget<\/span> cuts<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> inflation<\/span> in<\/span> check<\/span> and<\/span> avoid<\/span> a<\/span> “booby<\/span> trap”<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> economy.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>After<\/span> the<\/span> latest<\/span> interest<\/span> rate<\/span> decision,<\/span> Chancellor<\/span> Katie<\/span> Gallagher<\/span> set<\/span> the<\/span> course<\/span> for<\/span> further<\/span> austerity<\/span> measures.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Senator<\/span> Gallagher<\/span> welcomed<\/span> the<\/span> opportunity<\/span> to<\/span> put<\/span> the<\/span> brakes<\/span> on<\/span> further<\/span> rate<\/span> hikes<\/span> after<\/span> 10<\/span> straight<\/span> rate<\/span> hikes.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Reserve<\/span> Bank<\/span> Governor<\/span> Philip<\/span> Lowe<\/span> has<\/span> hinted<\/span> that<\/span> a<\/span> moratorium<\/span> could<\/span> be<\/span> coming<\/span> soon.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Interest<\/span> rates<\/span> have<\/span> risen<\/span> from<\/span> 0.1%,<\/span> a<\/span> historic<\/span> low<\/span> in<\/span> May<\/span> 2022,<\/span> to<\/span> 3.6%.<\/span> NAB,<\/span> Westpac<\/span> and<\/span> ANZ<\/span> have<\/span> passed<\/span> the<\/span> latest<\/span> 0.25<\/span> percentage<\/span> point<\/span> increase<\/span> to<\/span> their<\/span> variable<\/span> rate<\/span> mortgage<\/span> customers.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Big<\/span> banks<\/span> have<\/span> also<\/span> increased<\/span> interest<\/span> rates<\/span> on<\/span> various<\/span> deposit<\/span> products,<\/span> improving<\/span> savers’<\/span> returns.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Senator<\/span> Gallagher<\/span> said<\/span> May’s<\/span> federal<\/span> budget<\/span> calls<\/span> for<\/span> fiscal<\/span> consolidation<\/span> and<\/span> is<\/span> responsible<\/span> for<\/span> mitigating<\/span> the<\/span> effects<\/span> of<\/span> inflation.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“There<\/span> are<\/span> areas<\/span> where<\/span> we<\/span> can<\/span> reasonably<\/span> save,<\/span> and<\/span> I’m<\/span> not<\/span> going<\/span> to<\/span> pretend<\/span> it’s<\/span> easy.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“We<\/span> have<\/span> a<\/span> lot<\/span> of<\/span> booby<\/span> traps<\/span> left<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> former<\/span> government<\/span> that<\/span> we<\/span> are<\/span> working<\/span> on.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> finance<\/span> minister<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> central<\/span> bank<\/span> will<\/span> make<\/span> its<\/span> own<\/span> decisions<\/span> based<\/span> on<\/span> economic<\/span> data.Welcome<\/span> he<\/span> lowers<\/span> his<\/span> sign.<\/span> “I<\/span> don’t<\/span> think<\/span> it’s<\/span> unusual<\/span> for<\/span> people<\/span> to<\/span> want<\/span> to<\/span> see<\/span> a<\/span> moratorium<\/span> because<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> impact<\/span> these<\/span> interest<\/span> rates<\/span> have,”<\/span> she<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> RBA’s<\/span> softer<\/span> tone<\/span> contrasts<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> Federal<\/span> Reserve’s<\/span> more<\/span> aggressive<\/span> stance.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Dr.<\/span> Lowe<\/span> argues<\/span> that<\/span> Australia<\/span> is<\/span> in<\/span> better<\/span> shape<\/span> than<\/span> other<\/span> developed<\/span> countries.<\/span> This<\/span> is<\/span> due<\/span> to<\/span> relatively<\/span> subdued<\/span> wage<\/span> pressures<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> high<\/span> proportion<\/span> of<\/span> interest<\/span> rate<\/span> sensitive<\/span> variable<\/span> rate<\/span> and<\/span> short<\/span> term<\/span> fixed<\/span> rate<\/span> mortgages.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> NAB<\/span> market<\/span> economist<\/span> Tapas<\/span> Strickland<\/span> said<\/span> there<\/span> are<\/span> signs<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> recovery<\/span> even<\/span> among<\/span> mortgage<\/span> holders<\/span> who<\/span> can<\/span> sustain<\/span> household<\/span> spending<\/span> longer<\/span> than<\/span> expected.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> RBA’s<\/span> analysis<\/span> shows<\/span> that<\/span> total<\/span> mortgage<\/span> payments<\/span> have<\/span> remained<\/span> flat<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> past<\/span> few<\/span> quarters,<\/span> with<\/span> higher<\/span> interest<\/span> rates<\/span> so<\/span> far<\/span> absorbing<\/span> most<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> excess<\/span> payments.<\/span> “Households<\/span> have<\/span> effectively<\/span> reduced<\/span> overpayments<\/span> and<\/span> increased<\/span> minimum<\/span> payments<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> time,”<\/span> Strickland<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>He<\/span> said<\/span> most<\/span> people<\/span> expected<\/span> a<\/span> significant<\/span> drop<\/span> in<\/span> household<\/span> spending,<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> prospect<\/span> of<\/span> simply<\/span> cutting<\/span> the<\/span> excess<\/span> that<\/span> mortgage<\/span> holders<\/span> are<\/span> paying<\/span> could<\/span> cast<\/span> doubt<\/span> on<\/span> that<\/span> outlook.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CANBERRA (Brussels Independent with AAP) Dr. Majid Khan -Households have been warned to prepare for federal budget cuts to keep inflation in check and avoid a “booby trap” in the economy. After the latest interest rate decision, Chancellor Katie Gallagher set the course for further austerity measures. Senator Gallagher welcomed the opportunity to put the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[1566,280,562,1568],"tags":[1613,1614,1615,1616,1617,1569,1618,1574,1619,1604,1605,1606,1607,1608,1609,1610,1611,1612],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/ccfda1b8-5043-4e25-a210-214d3c27e4d9-1.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4617"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4619,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4617\/revisions\/4619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}