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Australian mortgage repayments jump by nearly $20,000 a year since 2022
An Australian mortgage rate rise has intensified pressure on households, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended a dinner with King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Antigua. The article contrasts the event with rising repayments at home and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher’s claim that Labor deserves recognition for its efforts to restrain spending.
Canstar modelling estimates that a borrower with a $600,000, 30-year mortgage taken out when Labor came to power in May 2022 would see monthly repayments rise from $2,399 to $4,056 after the latest increase: $19,884 more a year. Separately, holding the loan balance at $600,000, a rate rise from 2.5 per cent to 6.74 per cent adds $25,440 in annual interest, excluding principal. An adviser warned rates could rise further if inflation persists, while Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said policy would remain tight for as long as needed.
In short
- A $600,000 mortgage repayment is projected to rise by $19,884 a year.
- The latest increase is the fifth Australian rate rise this year.
- Further hikes remain possible if inflation stays stubborn.
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The case for
Supporters of the government can argue that mortgage rates are set by the independent Reserve Bank in response to inflation, and that higher repayments reflect broader economic pressures rather than a direct government decision. They may also point to Labor’s efforts to restrain public spending, as Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has argued, as a way to ease inflation without abandoning support for households.
The case against
Critics can argue that the scale of repayment increases is imposing severe, immediate strain on households, and that the government should be judged on whether its policies have helped contain inflation and housing costs. They may see the Prime Minister’s overseas dinner as a jarring contrast with that pressure, and regard claims of spending restraint as unpersuasive while borrowers face the prospect of further rate rises.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Sour-faced Albanese dines with royalty as repayments on an average mortgage soar by almost $20,000 a year since he came to power … while his Finance Minister praises Labor’s ‘hard work’”.