Households hit by upturn

MORTGAGE repayment increases have been calculated for every Cairns suburb as Labor makes cost of living its biggest election weapon.

The four big banks will pass on a rate hike after the Reserve Bank raised the cash rate 25 basis points to 0.35 per cent.

It will equate to an extra $658 annual increase for a median-priced Cairns property – or $709 for Redlynch residents like Matt Richardson.

The Cairns Hospital emergency nurse bought a home with his partner at the beginning of last year, but a subsequent break-up left him paying the mortgage by himself.

“I’m not hand-to-mouth, but it wouldn’t take much to push me to that point,” he said.

“Everyday expenses, petrol, buying fresh groceries – I’m already looking at ways I can try to minimise costs.

“Things are tight, and I’m lucky to have a very stable job.”

Labor has published suburb-by-suburb calculations, based on median house prices with an 80 per cent loan at an existing rate of 2.35 per cent.

Leichhardt candidate Elida Faith said change was needed.

“The RBA is an independent body and makes its own decisions on monetary policy free from political interference,” she said.

“But governments have a role to play in easing cost of living pressures, and in creating secure jobs which put upward pressure on wages.”

The LNP has made several cost-of-living election announcements, including halving fuel excise for six months, a one-off $420 tax offset for low and middle-income earners, and a $250 Centrelink bonus.

Labor has pledged to strengthen Medicare to bring down medicine costs, establish more bulk-billed clinics, lift the childcare subsidy rate and cut average power bills by $275 a year by 2025.