More than half of Aussies say Philip Lowe should lose his job after jacking up interest rates — but he’s not the only one they’re angry at.
More than half of Australians say Philip Lowe should lose his job after jacking up interest rates, according to a new poll.
The Resolve Political Monitor survey of 1606 voters conducted for The Sydney Morning Herald found 52 per cent believe the embattled Reserve Bank governor should get the boot when his term expires in September. The 61-year-old economist has come under fire for a series of “tone-deaf” statements as Australia faces a cost-of-living and housing crisis.
At its June meeting last week the RBA raised rates again to an 11-year high of 4.1 per cent, the 12th increase since May 2022, in the face of persistently high inflation of nearly 7 per cent.
Dr Lowe sparked outrage the following day by saying Aussies struggling with mortgage repayments should work more and spend less. It was later revealed that last month, hours after raising rates for the 11th time, the RBA spent nearly $25,000 of taxpayers’ money on an exclusive dinner for Perth’s business elite.
But while Treasurer Jim Chalmers last week said a lot of Australians would find the latest rate rise “difficult to understand and difficult to cop”, the federal government is facing growing scrutiny for its role in the inflation crisis.
Asked who is primarily responsible for keeping inflation down, 33 per cent of voters in the Resolve Political Monitor Survey said it was the RBA — but 44 per cent pointed the finger at the federal government.
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