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Tense moment One Nation state leader snaps back at reporter when he can’t recall the cash rate on live TV… but shouldn’t he know it?
One Nation Victoria leader Warren Pickering struggled to name the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate during a live television interview, prompting reporter Sharri Markson to question whether a politician seeking to become premier should know it. Pickering turned back to his campaign focus on the cost of living, saying families were under pressure from grocery, fuel, rent and mortgage costs.
The RBA raised the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.85 per cent on Tuesday, its highest level in almost 18 years; Pickering guessed 5 per cent. He said he was campaigning for about 18 hours a day and focused on Victorian families, and defended One Nation’s decision not to publish detailed policy costings. The party’s stated proposals include payroll and land tax changes, scrapping insurance duty, reversing the new-home gas connection ban and abandoning the state’s net-zero targets; the article text cuts off during a further pledge.
In short
- Pickering could not give the exact cash rate in a live interview.
- The RBA rate had risen to 4.85 per cent.
- He defended One Nation’s campaign focus and uncosted policy platform.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A prospective premier should know the current cash rate: it directly affects mortgage repayments, household budgets and businesses, and is central to the cost-of-living debate. Knowing the figure would help voters judge whether a leader is across a major economic pressure and prepared to discuss policy with accuracy.
The case against
A leader’s grasp of the precise rate in a live interview is only one measure of their readiness, and a near miss does not by itself show they lack understanding of household pressures. Pickering could reasonably argue that his campaign should focus on how people experience rising costs and what his party would do, while noting that a demanding campaign schedule can make an on-the-spot factual recall harder.
Explained simply
The cash rate is the interest rate set by Australia’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). It influences what banks charge for mortgages and other loans, so changes can affect household budgets, spending and prices across the economy.
Warren Pickering leads One Nation in Victoria, where the party is campaigning on issues including the cost of living and proposing changes to state taxes and energy rules. The Victorian premier leads the state government; voters choose its members of parliament at a state election, and the party or group able to command a majority in parliament forms government.
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