RBA rate hike hits NSW families

Kellie Sloane
Leader of the Opposition
NSW Liberal Leader

Scott Farlow
Shadow Treasurer

NSW families and small businesses have been dealt another blow following the Reserve Bank’s decision to lift the cash rate for the third consecutive time this year.  
 
This rate rise will be felt hardest in New South Wales with the average NSW mortgage already the largest in the country and 19% more than the national average.  
 
NSW Liberal Leader Kellie Sloane said Labor’s cost-of-living crisis is only getting worse and the Minns Labor Government has no plan to help.  
 
“The cost-of-living crisis in NSW was already biting before the Iran War made a bad situation worse. Families are living with the consequences of three years of Labor inaction,” Ms Sloane said.  
 
“NSW has gone from top to the bottom on growth under Labor, families are paying more for everyday items and taxes have increased in NSW faster than any other jurisdiction.” 
 
The Reserve Bank of Australia's Statement on Monetary Policy issued today shows that the NSW Government's inflation assumptions that underlie the State Budget are completely shot. 
 
Inflation is forecast to remain above target throughout this year and won’t return to the target range until June 2027, a year later than the NSW Budget Half-Yearly Review had anticipated. 
 
Shadow Treasurer Scott Farlow said today’s RBA’s decision was a wakeup call the Minns Labor Government could no longer ignore. 
 
"The NSW Budget Half-Yearly Review highlighted elevated inflation as the "greatest risk to the NSW economy”, and it also poses a significant risk to NSW's fiscal position with higher inflation potentially undermining the NSW Treasurer's revenue forecasts and adding additional expenditure pressure,” Mr Farlow said. 
 
"While inflation has been exacerbated since the Iran War, the Reserve Bank has noted that inflation was rising and materially above the RBA's target range before the conflict began." 
 
“While the cost of housing, food, and essential bills continues to rise, the Minns Labor Government has chosen to grow the tax burden on NSW families.  
 
“NSW families deserve a government with a plan and this government simply does not have one.”