Hunter Region Feeling Pinch Of Additional Interest Rate Increase

 BY REUBEN AGYEI DANSO

Hunter residents are increasingly calling for financial assistance, following additional interest rate increases. 

Due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Reserve Bank of Australia has added another increase to national interest rates, bumping up the total to 4.1 percent. 

Following the initial spike, the National Debt Helpline has recorded it's highest number of calls recorded for the month of February since 2020. 

Last month, the service handled more than 15,800 calls and online chats about mortgage stress, credit card and ATO debts, growing energy bills and personal loans, a nine percent jump on the same time last year.

Helpline coordinator Vicki Staff said the increase is bad news for people who are already struggling. 

"The kind of decisions that people are now having to make; do I pay for rent or do I pay for my medicine?" she said. 

"So, the more interest rates go up, the more pressure it puts on people". 

Ms Staff explained it comes at a time where additional financial pressures are already rampant. 

"We already know that the reason behind this rate hike is related to what's going on globally," she said. 

"Some people are struggling to put petrol in their cars at the same time. 

"So, it's just coming down to those really tough decisions that people are having to make everyday." 

Yesterday's increase is expected to add about $100 a month to the repayments on a $600,000 loan. 

It comes as inflation sits at 3.8 percent, which is outside the Reserve Bank's target range of between two and three percent. 

Financial Counselling Australia CEO Dr Domenique Meyrick said people who are struggling need to know they are not alone. 

"They should contact their bank or lender as soon as possible," she said. 

"It's critical that banks and lenders respond constructively when customers ask for help." 

However, Ms Staff said there is still reason for optimism. 

"I think that certainly there is hope that things will ease globally and will provide a pressure release back here in Australia," she added. 

Picture: Pexels 

Interest rate hike sparks anxiety for Hunter businesses

BY DAKOTA TAIT

There's concern a long-awaited increase to interest rates will hit Hunter businesses hard, just as they were hoping to escape the financial woes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Reserve Bank announced a cash rate hike to 0.35 percent on Tuesday afternoon, with the big four banks each passing on the increase in full.

Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes says, with households keeping a closer eye on their budget, it could be bad news for business.

"For us, it's not just the amount that it's gone up but the message that it sends," Mr Hawes said.

"Everyone was expecting this or anticipating it, but now it's going to be interesting what happens with sentiment, because really at the moment, businesses can't afford for people to put their hands in their pockets too much.

"They're really hoping that people continue to get out there and patronise and spend."

It's understood, businesses have already been absorbing cost increases over the past couple of years.

Industry has also been plagued by staff shortages and inflationary pressures on the price of goods, especially as most government support measures were withdrawn after the height of the pandemic.

With more rate hikes on the horizon, Mr Hawes says it's just another burden, and one that isn't likely to go away anytime soon.

"That's something that we've got to watch out for, because it really will have an opportunity - not necessarily just because of the amounts or the absolute amounts of changes in the interest rate - but the sentiment that it sets and the message that it sends about what's happening in the economy," Mr Hawes said.

"People tend to tighten up and not go out to spend and they get more conservative, and that will be a concern for businesses."