Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

You certainly were not disputing that view, Senator Minchin. You say it is due to the world economy. You agree with the fact that that is what the Reserve Bank says. You talked about global demand and then you went on, and I will quote you. You said, ‘We had to put a light touch on the brakes.’ I think that is a little bit in conflict with the line the government would have us believe—that they do not have any control over this and that this is something that the Reserve Bank does in complete isolation from the government. I think Senator Minchin has indicated that the government did give the Reserve Bank the green light for this increase. His words were, ‘We had to put a light touch on the brakes.’

It is fine for Senator Minchin to finally admit that, but the ‘light touch on the brakes’ does not just go to this economy; it goes to every household in this country. The eighth successive ‘light touch on the brakes’ of this economy has now led to $260 per month in extra mortgage payments on the average mortgage for Australians. That is $260 a month being taken out of the household budget, out of the household grocery bill. At the same time we see housing affordability crashing in this country. Senator Minchin also told us that—