Rate hike adds to housing costs   :(
February 3, 2026 ACTU.
Australian Unions call on landlords to absorb today’s interest rate rise instead of passing it on to renters.

The Reserve Bank’s decision adds to housing costs, which is among the biggest cost-of-living pressures facing working people.

The impact of higher interest rates will fall hardest on renters and home buyers, while professional landlords remain largely shielded through negative gearing, capital gains tax discounts and their ability to pass on higher borrowing costs to tenants through higher rents.

Housing costs are one of the biggest contributors to cost of living pressures, and today’s Reserve Bank decision to lift the cash rate will only add to those pressures.

Landlords with multiple properties will be able to raise rents in response to the rate rise, while also claiming higher costs as tax deductions.

As a result, the Reserve Bank’s decision to lift the cash rate is likely to increase housing costs for working Australians.

The impact of higher interest rates on renters and home buyers strengthens the case for limiting negative gearing to a single investment property and reducing the capital gains tax discount from 50% to 25%, under a five-year phase-out plan.

Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus:

“Housing is one of the biggest cost-of-living pressures, and today’s rate rise will make that worse for renters and home buyers.

“Professional landlords should absorb these higher interest rate costs and not pass them on to renters, who are already struggling – especially given landlords are already benefiting from high house prices and the current tax settings.

“Working people, who are renting, are subsidising landlords. They pay higher effective tax rates than landlords who benefit from negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts. It’s not fair to now turn around and slug working people with higher rents because of today’s rate rise.

“It’s unfair that a first homebuyer will now pay higher repayments as a proportion of their income, than professional landlords who can claim those costs as deductions. This only makes housing even less affordable for young Australians and just increases inter-generational inequality.

“Average workers like nurses and teachers can’t afford the rents to live in the communities they serve, and this decision will only make that worse.”

"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."  - Franklin D. Roosevelt.

This entire thrust to never-ending inflation that most disproportionately affects those with the least, to the near impossibility of a  family to purchase and eventually own a home, the vast imbalance in lending policies of banks (and insurance companies who are deeply entangled there) that favour investors over owners while ignoring major and necessary infrastructures for the nation as a whole, literally driving countless 'lesser beings' into Tent City, and creating relentlessly out of whack incomes and 'prosperity' (of the few but not of the nation generally) and thus savagely unbalanced social conditions and real opportunities - is a matter of calculated policy.

It is a policy designed to create of the 'insiders' the absolute social and economic rulers of a country.

The aim is the 'Socialist'* style of reducing as much as possible the common folk to a position of absolute servitude and obedience to the State through the sheer necessity of literally begging for a crust**, and, much more bleakly, to those who have generated for themselves any position of power and control in that State.  Perhaps the saddest thing is that the 'parties' that once  spouted hatred for 'elitism' and social divisions and 'classism', are now the very ones who perpetrate and perpetuate those things for the benefit of their own insiders, much like any badly run 'socialist' country - where only the 'party members' get all the special consideration and treats.

When the ordinary person must literally beg or slave in any job he/she can find to get a daily crust for self and family, it is blatantly clear that those who start life with the least are the most likely to finish life with the least, and those forced into that position are the most vulnerable to any economic changes.  Homing is the greatest single cost - it should not be made the easy province of the 'investor' who uses it for profit and not for living - but rather the easy province of the family.

Australia is in need of one mighty upheaval.


*"Socialism" takes many forms - from the relatively benign to the absolutely despotic - every regime that leans towards the latter seeks to reduce its populace under despotism.

** We see already here the hue and cry against 'slave labour' - REAL slave labour - an imported social disease used by certain groups, and brought to our shores in hiding.

Quote:

Australian Unions call on landlords to absorb today’s interest rate rise instead of passing it on to renters.

Yeah, good luck with that.

"Landlords" (God, that name really needs to be erased from the English language) were also asked not to raise rents after the temporary rent 'freezes' that were put in place by some States during Covid but guess what happened?

And, no doubt scumbag real estate agents had a lot to do with it, of course.

Human greed knows no bounds.

Oh, and I had a bit of a chuckle at this letter in today's The West Australian.

What else would you expect a politician to say? Especially someone like "Snake" Chalmers.

Disgraceful stuff.

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Carl D wrote on Feb 4^th, 2026 at 10:56am:

Quote: Australian Unions call on landlords to absorb today’s interest rate rise instead of passing it on to renters. Yeah, good luck with that. "Landlords" (God, that name really needs to be erased from the English language) were also asked not to raise rents after the temporary rent 'freezes' that were put in place by some States during Covid but guess what happened? And, no doubt scumbag real estate agents had a lot to do with it, of course. Human greed knows no bounds. Oh, and I had a bit of a chuckle at this letter in today's The West Australian. What else would you expect a politician to say? Especially someone like "Snake" Chalmers. Disgraceful stuff.

Too true.

The "independent" central bank dogma is a ruse to let elected politicians off the hook - instead of accepting responsibility for managing the economy.

But no doubt YOU are committed to the current Neoclassical (Thatcherite) "small government/low tax/low spending government ideology  - probably without even being aware of the entrenched nature of this ideology, which is subscribed-to by both major parties?

 

Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Feb 4^th, 2026 at 6:49am:

"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."  - Franklin D. Roosevelt. This entire thrust to never-ending inflation that most disproportionately affects those with the least, to the near impossibility of a  family to purchase and eventually own a home, the vast imbalance in lending policies of banks (and insurance companies who are deeply entangled there) that favour investors over owners while ignoring major and necessary infrastructures for the nation as a whole, literally driving countless 'lesser beings' into Tent City, and creating relentlessly out of whack incomes and 'prosperity' (of the few but not of the nation generally) and thus savagely unbalanced social conditions and real opportunities - is a matter of calculated policy. It is a policy designed to create of the 'insiders' the absolute social and economic rulers of a country.

Ok ....for the sake of the argument....



Quote:

The aim is the 'Socialist'* style of reducing as much as possible the common folk to a position of absolute servitude and obedience to the State through the sheer necessity of literally begging for a crust**

,

Your first error: socialism is a concept advocating for  the general welfare. 



Quote:

and, much more bleakly, to those who have generated for themselves any position of power and control in that State.

Well, that's what the most  able seek to do.... 


Quote:

Perhaps the saddest thing is that the 'parties' that once  spouted hatred for 'elitism' and social divisions and 'classism', are now the very ones who perpetrate and perpetuate those things for the benefit of their own insiders, much like any badly run 'socialist' country - where only the 'party members' get all the special consideration and treats.

Hence the badly run 'capitalist' countries now facing democratic chaos....


Quote:

When the ordinary person must literally beg or slave in any job he/she can find to get a daily crust for self and family, it is blatantly clear that those who start life with the least are the most likely to finish life with the least, and those forced into that position are the most vulnerable to any economic changes.  Homing is the greatest single cost - it should not be made the easy province of the 'investor' who uses it for profit and not for living - but rather the easy province of the family.

We agree....yeeeeeh :D


Quote:

Australia is in need of one mighty upheaval.

Yes: namely, overturning the entrencehd dogma of Neoclassical "dismal science" economists.



Quote:

*"Socialism" takes many forms - from the relatively benign to the absolutely despotic - every regime that leans towards the latter seeks to reduce its populace under despotism.

Yes , but stop worrying your little head about "Socialism", the issue is just mobilization of the nation's resources, and how to achieve it while allowing private enterprise to incentivize  creativity based on self-interest. 


Quote:

** We see already here the hue and cry against 'slave labour' - REAL slave labour - an imported social disease used by certain groups, and brought to our shores in hiding.

A bit esoteric, that statement... 

But yes, limiting immigration in line wth the nation's capacity to successfully absorb the immigrants  needs to be a serious consideration of government.