Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Science and Water) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Minchin, the Minister representing the Treasurer. I refer the minister again to the view of the Prime Minister that the best thing that the Reserve Bank can do to curb inflation is to raise interest rates again this week. Aren’t families with an average mortgage already paying an extra $248 a month compared to what they were paying before interest rates started going up in May 2002? Won’t a further interest rates rise this week add another $37 a month to those payments? Why does the Prime Minister believe that making families pay an extra $285 a month is the best thing to do to get inflation under control?