RBA tightens the noose amidst Government’s drunken spending

Hinchinbrook MP and KAP Deputy Leader, Nick Dametto MP.

27 July 2023

Queenslanders are bracing for what is tipped to be the Reserve Bank of Australia’s thirteenth rate rise since May 2022 as inflation continues to hover around six percent, with many low to middle income earners wondering if they will financially see the year out without foreclosing on their home loans.

The Palaszczuk Government’s promise to deliver a State Budget with the ‘strongest direct cost-of-living package’ has missed the mark for many Queenslanders who are at financial breaking point as the long-term impacts of the cost-of-living crisis take hold.

Hinchinbrook MP and Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Deputy Leader, Nick Dametto, said it was heartbreaking to hear stories of desperation with many families going without the basics to try and keep a roof over their heads.

“While many Queenslanders are struggling with the necessities from week to week, the State Labor Government continues to blindly forge ahead with money absorbing projects such as the Olympics, the Gabba rebuild and the Cross River Rail,” Mr Dametto said.

“At a time when Queensland is making record profit from coal royalties, the Government could be using some of that money to ease the cost of living being shouldered by the rest of us, this Government has left us high and dry and opted to engage in a gluttonous South-East spending spree.

“Despite promises that this year’s budget would tackle the cost of living, it’s safe to say any assistance in the form of rebates offered by the Government, such as the $500 Cost of Living Rebate on electricity bills, is like taking a piss in the ocean when electricity has gone up by twenty-six percent.

“Rising insurance premiums, energy costs and historically high grocery and petrol prices, are killing small businesses and bringing households to their knees.

“The situation is only going to worsen for low to middle-income earners as they head towards the fixed-rate mortgage cliff where their interest rates will begin to skyrocket. Those affected will be expected to find hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars more per month to service their home loans.

“Some of the $15 billion in coal royalties should be used by the State Government to help offset things like the cost of insurance by abolishing stamp duty attached to premiums and subsidising the States expensive transition to renewable energy. Instead, we’re all being stung twice, once by the greedy banks and then by the Government.

“It’s time that the Palaszczuk Government stepped up and supported families. No point building new sporting stadiums and hosting the Olympics if no one can afford to go.”

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