controlling interest rates, economic issues, economy, EMC, ER, essential report, global financial crisis, Housing affordability, Interest rates, Reserve Bank
Q. Which of the following statements most closely reflects your opinion on the cause of the recent increase in official interest rates?
| % | |
| The Reserve Bank independently sets interest rates to avoid inflation | 30% |
| It’s just a correction to the historic low interest rates during the Global Financial Crisis | 18% |
| The Federal Government has managed the economy well and the rate increase is a sign of a strong economy | 15% |
| The Federal Government has managed the economy badly and so rates are rising | 9% |
| The world economy is the biggest factor in interest rates, not the Australian economy | 9% |
| House prices are rising and pushing up interest rates | 5% |
| Don’t know | 15% |
When it comes to what the public perceive are the causes of the recent increase in official interest rates, 30% think that the Reserve Bank independently sets interest rates to avoid inflation and 18% think that interest rate rises are a correction to the historic low interest rates during the Global Financial Crisis. 15% think that the Federal Government has managed the economy well and the rate increase is a sign of a strong economy.
Only 9% think it is because the Government has managed the economy badly.
Coalition voters were more likely to think that the Reserve Bank independently setting interest rates to avoid inflation is the cause of the recent increase in interest rates (39%). Labor voters were more likely to think the increase in interest rates is because the Federal Government has managed the economy well and the rate increase is a sign of a strong economy (28%). Green voters were more likely to think the recent interest rate rises are just a correction to the historic low interest rates during the Global Financial Crisis (24%).