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Former employee accuses Hawthorn of discrimination after mental health episode

Former employee accuses Hawthorn of discrimination after mental health episode

A young woman is taking legal action against the AFL club she used to work for, claiming she was discriminated against after being hospitalized with a mental illness.

Sophia Salmon-Abbott, 24, suffered anxiety and depression when she was an account manager for Hawthorn, according to documents filed with the human rights division of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

In May last year, she spent a month in hospital after suffering a severe mental health episode and was unfit to work, according to a statement of claim.

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She further claims that in July she was advised by her psychologist she could return to work gradually, starting with one full day a week, but Hawthorn did not permit this.

Sophia Salmon-Abbott is taking legal action against Hawthorn Football Club. Picture: @sophiaabbottsalmon / InstagramSource: Supplied

Ms Salmon-Abbott was removed from a group WhatsApp chat of about 12 to 15 other employees and told she could return to work only in a part-time reception role after lockdown, according to the document.

It claims Hawthorn misled Ms Salmon-Abbott about her prospects of returning to her role as commercial partnerships account executive on a gradual basis.

Evidence cited in the claim includes an email from a Hawthorn executive which was circulated among staff but not Ms Salmon-Abbott.

It is said to have instructed that Ms Salmon-Abbott would be allowed to return to the partnerships accounts team only when she could work five days.

Ms Salmon-Abbott claims she has still not been permitted to return to Hawthorn and is now working for a new employer.

She is seeking an apology and compensation for economic and non-economic loss.

Hawthorn is a high-profile partner of mental health organization Beyond Blue, which was founded by former Victorian premier and Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett.

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett founded Beyond Blue and was chair until former prime minister Julia Gillard took over the role in 2017. It has a close relationship with the club. Picture: Stuart McEvoySource: News Corp Australia

Ms Salmon-Abbott said she never expected to be treated the way she was by an employer connected to the advocacy organisation.

“I really thought they would understand what I was going through and have effective support mechanisms in place. They did n’t, ”she said in a statement through her lawyer de ella.

“It kept me from recovering, and made me feel helpless. It also made me feel like a burden.”

Hawthorn Football Club said it “categorically rejects the allegations” and that it will defend itself in any proceedings.

“We regard the physical and mental health and safety of all our employees as our number one priority,” a statement said.

“This has been paramount in our dealings with Ms Salmon-Abbott, with the club repeatedly offering support and assistance to accommodate her circumstances.

“As the matter will be filed with VCAT, the club will not make any further comments.”

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Business

Economist Saul Eslake predicts Australia’s interest rate growth will slow

Economist Saul Eslake predicts Australia's interest rate growth will slow

There is a glimmer of hope for Australians fearing more interest rate pain, with a leading economist predicting the massive hikes could soon start to ease.

On August 2, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates for a fourth consecutive month, bringing them to a six-year high of 1.85 per cent.

It was also the third month in a row the cash rate rose by 0.5 per cent, the fastest interest rate growth Australia has experienced in almost 30 years.

The RBA has made it clear interest rates will continue to go up as it attempts to bring soaring inflation levels down.

But independent economist Saul Eslake, former Bank of America Merrill Lynch chief economist (Australia and New Zealand), believes interest rates will not rise as high as some are predicting.

“I think the Reserve Bank is of a mind to get it (interest rates) up to about 2.5 per cent by the end of the year. That could be either 2.35 per cent or 2.6 per cent,” he told NCA NewsWire.

“Then they will be able to pause to assess the impact of what they by then will have done.

“In my view, that may well be enough to slow the economy sufficiently.”

Mr Eslake said raising the cash rate to 2.35 or 2.6 per cent should be enough to achieve the RBA’s goal of slowing down the growth of domestic spending to counter inflation.

“As customers do have to start paying for the rate increases that have been announced, you should see spending slow quite a bit,” he said.

“The other part of the answer is that there is now starting to be some evidence to suggest that the global sources of inflationary pressure have peaked.”

Mr Eslake’s projection goes against what the country’s big four banks have previously predicted after they all unanimously forecast more pain for Australians.

NAB expected the cash rate to sit at 2.85 per cent by November, while Westpac forecasted it would rise to 3.35 per cent by February next year.

But Westpac’s forecast was not as dire as ANZ’s, who expected the cash rate to rise above three per cent before the Christmas holidays.

“Our expectation is that the RBA will deliver this via four more successive 50 basis point rate hikes in August, September, October and November,” ANZ’s head of Australian economics, David Plank, wrote in July.

“This 200 basis points of additional tightening sees the cash rate target at 3.35 per cent by November.”

The CBA forecasted the cash rate will sit at 2.60 percentage points by November.

Mr Eslake acknowledged and did not dismiss these projections, but expressed concern over what it could mean for the Australian economy.

“My view would be that if the Reserve Bank does end up going straight to 3 per cent or 3.5 per cent… there will be a much greater risk of a sharper slowdown in the Australian economy,” he said.

RBA Governor Philip Lowe has previously said he expects they will take further action on interest rates, but indicated those changes are not “pre-set” and subject to incoming data at the time.

“The Board expects to take further steps in the process of normalizing monetary conditions over the months ahead, but it is not on a pre-set path,” he said in a statement following the August hike.

“The size and timing of future interest rate increases will be guided by the incoming data and the Board’s assessment of the outlook for inflation and the labor market.”

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Australia

Australia weather: Southeast rain band causes flood warnings in Victoria and NSW

Southeast rain band causes flood warnings in Victoria and NSW

Parts of NSW are preparing for the worst day of a rain band that is moving through the state, leading to renewed fears of flooding at inland rivers.

A cold front, associated with a low pressure system that moved through Western Australia, brought showers to western NSW from late Thursday and extended into eastern parts of the state on Friday.

The Bureau of Meteorology said Friday was forecasted to be the wettest day of the rain event for most NSW regions, with inland rivers at an increased risk of flooding due to recent deluges in the area.

“This rainfall may cause widespread minor to moderate and possibly major flooding along inland NSW rivers, many of which experienced flooding due to the rainfall last week,” it wrote.

The bureau expects renewed flooding at multiple river catchments littered across the state on Friday, including a minor to major flooding for the Macquarie River downstream of Burrendong Dam.

The other 13 warnings were either minor or moderate in nature for parts of inland NSW, with up to 25-55mm of rain possible around the northwest and central west plains.

Widespread rain and possible storms are predicted until Saturday across the coast, with Sydney and Newcastle expected to experience a deluge on Friday, while it could last until Sunday for inland regions.

Last month was the wettest July on record for much of the NSW east coast, including Sydney, with rainfall around four to eight times higher than average.

Parts of Victoria are also being impacted by the east-coast deluge, with rain bucketing down since 9am on Thursday.

Mount Buffalo copped 51.6mm of rain in the last 24 hours, while Archerton experienced a 34.6mm soaking.

Rainfall totals have generally been 5-10mm across the state, but increased to around 15-25mm over the central ranges and 20-30mm in the northeast ranges.

Minor flood warnings are in place for parts of the Murray and Kiewa rivers.

The bureau’s climate outlook forecast is that rain will likely be above median for much of Australia over the coming fortnight but below median for parts of the tropics.

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Australia

Southeast rain band causes flood warnings in Victoria and NSW

Southeast rain band causes flood warnings in Victoria and NSW

Parts of NSW are preparing for the worst day of a rain band that is moving through the state, leading to renewed fears of flooding at inland rivers.

A cold front, associated with a low pressure system that moved through Western Australia, brought showers to western NSW from late Thursday and extended into eastern parts of the state on Friday.

The Bureau of Meteorology said Friday was forecasted to be the wettest day of the rain event for most NSW regions, with inland rivers at an increased risk of flooding due to recent deluges in the area.

“This rainfall may cause widespread minor to moderate and possibly major flooding along inland NSW rivers, many of which experienced flooding due to the rainfall last week,” it wrote.

The bureau expects renewed flooding at multiple river catchments littered across the state on Friday, including a minor to major flooding for the Macquarie River downstream of Burrendong Dam.

The other 13 warnings were either minor or moderate in nature for parts of inland NSW, with up to 25-55mm of rain possible around the northwest and central west plains.

Widespread rain and possible storms are predicted until Saturday across the coast, with Sydney and Newcastle expected to experience a deluge on Friday, while it could last until Sunday for inland regions.

Last month was the wettest July on record for much of the NSW east coast, including Sydney, with rainfall around four to eight times higher than average.

Parts of Victoria are also being impacted by the east-coast deluge, with rain bucketing down since 9am on Thursday.

Mount Buffalo copped 51.6mm of rain in the last 24 hours, while Archerton experienced a 34.6mm soaking.

Rainfall totals have generally been 5-10mm across the state, but increased to around 15-25mm over the central ranges and 20-30mm in the northeast ranges.

Minor flood warnings are in place for parts of the Murray and Kiewa rivers.

The bureau’s climate outlook forecast is that rain will likely be above median for much of Australia over the coming fortnight but below median for parts of the tropics.

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Business

Qantas engineers to hold one-minute work stoppage

Qantas engineers to hold one-minute work stoppage

More than 700 aircraft engineers from Qantas, Jetstar and Perth-based FIFO subsidiary Network Aviation will conduct a “one-minute work stoppage” in August.

The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers’ Association (ALAEA) federal secretary Steve Purvinas told members in a meeting on Wednesday that the majority had voted in favor of industrial action.

Airline engineers are asking their employer for a 12 per cent pay rise to make up for stagnant wages the last four years.

The union’s first action will be a one-minute stoppage across all airlines sometime in late August.

“The first action will be a token one,” Mr Purvinas told members.

“A one-minute stoppage of course is not going to harm any airline and also demonstrates our willingness to negotiate in good faith and not try and harm the airline.”

Mr Purvinas said the token stoppage aimed to give the airlines an opportunity to come to the table.

“We do want to give some time for resolution of these matters before we have to do anything that may even be close to disrupting the public,” he said.

The strikes come at a difficult time for Australia’s national flag carrier, as the aviation industry struggles with staff shortages that have led to flight cancellations, delays and missing luggage.

If the stoppage does not motivate negotiations, the union plans to notify the airline of more work stoppages.

During these stoppages, the union has offered to provide “alternative labor provisions” to the airline.

“We want to assure the public that we won’t be harming their services,” Mr Purvinas said.

“Our target is the airlines who are not negotiating in good faith.”

ALAEA members voted against using overtime bans to avoid “exacerbating” already challenging conditions in the industry.

A Qantas spokesman told the NCA NewsWire in July that the 12 per cent pay rise was something the airline “simply can’t afford”.

They said Qantas had a policy of 2 per cent annual increases for all employees across the Group.

The airline has a history of not holding back when it comes to dealing with union industrial action.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce infamously grounded the airline during a dispute with the ALAEA and two other unions back in 2011, leaving 200,000 passengers stranded without notice.

Qantas was contacted for comment.

Read related topics:Perth Qantas

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Business

Penfolds, Treasury Wine Estates wins copycat Chinese court case against Rush Rich

Penfolds, Treasury Wine Estates wins copycat Chinese court case against Rush Rich

An Australian wine company has won a “landmark” court case in China after more than six years of fighting a copycat brand.

Treasury Wine Estates owns and produces a number of well-known wine labels including Penfolds and Wolf Blass. However, the issue arose when company Rush Rich used part of the Penfolds branding on its own bottles.

After six years of fighting, on Wednesday, the Supreme People’s Court of China ruled in Treasury’s favor, finding that the other wine company had acted in “bad faith” against them.

The court found that Chinese-Australian company Rush Rich improperly used a Chinese character which was a copyright breach of the Penfolds brand.

This was “illicit conduct”, according to the court.

Treasury Wine Estates said the other company had tried to “exploit” its brand and was happy about the decision from the Chinese court, calling it a “landmark win”.

The court ruled that Rush Rich’s registration of the Chinese character mark for Penfolds Winery was invalid.

“We welcome the Judgment by the Supreme People’s Court of China and thank the Chinese authorities for their continued support in protecting the rights of luxury brand owners,” Penfolds managing director Tom King said.

Following its “longstanding battle” with Rush Rich, Treasury said it takes a “zero tolerance approach” to copyright breaches.

Anna Olsen, global director of intellectual property for Treasury Wine Estates, said in a statement: “Protecting the integrity of our historic brands against trademark piracy and misappropriation has always been a global priority.

“We’ll spare no effort to protect our brands and will pursue our rights to the highest courts where necessary.

“This case shows we won’t tolerate attempts to exploit and infringe the intellectual property rights and reputation of brands in the Treasury Wine Estates portfolio.”

Government regulator Wine Australia was also happy with the court case outcome as it has been working hard to maintain the international reputation of Australian wine.

The case is timely as Penfolds is looking to launch its wine in China.

In 2019, Rush Rich was also slammed with a massive fine in Australia’s Federal Court after being found to have infringed on several trademarks of Treasury Wine Estates.

The company had to pay $375,000 in compensation and was barred from using the images again.

Before the Australian Federal Court case, Treasury Wine Estates took Rush Rich to the Shanghai Pudong Court.

That court also ruled in favor of Treasury Wine Estates and ordered Rush Rich to pay back 2,000,000 Chinese yuan ($A426,000 at the time).

Read related topics:China

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Business

Qantas moves managers and executives into baggage handling

Qantas moves managers and executives into baggage handling

Qantas senior executives and managers will step down from their usual roles to pitch in as ground handlers, as the airline continues to suffer from major staff shortages.

The shake-up is part of an extraordinary contingency program expected to last three months and help the airline get back on its feet before the busy summer holiday period.

While the airline has rehired close to 2000 staff after letting about 1700 ground handlers go during the pandemic, it has struggled to stay on top of baggage, flight delays and cancellations.

Chief operating officer Colin Hughes told staff that during the contingency program, they would be an “embedded resource within the ground handling partners”, Australianreports.

“This means you’ll receive a roster, be scheduled to operate and be supervised and managed in the live operations by our ground-handling partners.”

Staff participating in the program would be required to sort through and scan bags, and drive airport tugs to carry luggage onto planes and between terminals.

“It’s our singular company focus to support our teams to get our operation back to where it should be and provide our passengers the experience they expect from the airline,” Mr Hughes said in his note to staff.

A Qantas spokesperson said the measures were introduced as a result of staff shortages caused by flu and Covid, as well as the tight labor market.

“We’ve been clear that our operational performance has not been meeting our customers’ expectations or the standards that we expect of ourselves – and that we’ve been pulling out all stops to improve our performance,” they told news.com.au .

“As we have done in the past during busy periods, around 200 head office staff have helped at airports during peak travel periods since Easter.

“While we manage the impacts of a record flu season and ongoing Covid cases coupled with the tightest labor market in decades, we’re continuing that contingency planning across our airport operations for the next three months.”

Qantas is filing an appeal in the High Court after the Federal Court found it was in breach of the Fair Work Act for sacking almost 2000 staff during the pandemic.

It has yet to fully staff its operations since domestic and international travel summarized following the Covid shutdown period.

Qantas’ reputation has suffered immensely in recent months with furious customers complaining about delayed and canceled flights, missing luggage and extreme customer service wait times.

Read related topics:qantas

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Business

Qld Hutchinson building boss warns more construction companies will fold

Qld Hutchinson building boss warns more construction companies will fold

One of Australia’s biggest building bosses has issued a sober warning about the state of the construction industry with expectations many more businesses will collapse in coming months.

The chairman of Queensland construction company Hutchinson Builders, Scott Hutchinson, put it bluntly.

“I bet more builders go broke in Australia,” he told Australian Financial Review.

Mr Hutchinson blamed the way Australia’s construction system worked, with most of the onus placed on the builders themselves rather than developers.

He explained how developers tried to attract customers to their projects with competitive deals with little understanding of the very tight margins that builders had to fulfill to turn a profit.

Construction companies mostly have to oblige these developers as there is no shortage of builders but there are limited projects out there, Mr Hutchinson said.

Developers also can take on clients with very little financial stake while builders bore the brunt of the risk.

They [builders] will roll the dice with their fingers crossed every day of the week,” he said.

There’s no denying it, Australia’s building industry is in crisis; many companies have gone into liquidation so far this year amid rising costs for construction materials but also being stuck in fixed contracts, driving them out of business.

Two months ago, news.com.au spoke to Russ Stephens, co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders (APB), who warned that the industry was in dire straits with as much as 80 per cent of building firms haemorrhaging money.

More than half of the estimated 12,000 construction companies in the country are reportedly trading at a loss, with many on the brink of collapse.

And those who work in the industry are having regular mental breakdowns and crying to colleagues and family members as the pressure to survive mounts.

“[Building firms are] losing huge amounts of money,” Mr Stephens said.

“Eighty per cent of builders in Australia have lost money in the last 12 months. That’s horrific,” he said.

He said around 50 per cent of building companies wouldn’t be able to pay back all their debts at once if creditors asked for their money back at the same time.

“About 25 to 30 per cent [of these companies] can’t pay their bills on time,” he said.

An industry insider told news.com.au earlier this year that half of Australia’s building companies are on the brink of collapse as they trade insolvent.

Overall, the construction industry has been plagued with a spate of collapses caused by a perfect storm of supply chain disruptions, skilled labor shortages, skyrocketing costs of materials and logistics, and extreme weather events.

Earlier this year, two major Australian construction companies, Gold Coast-based Condev and industry giant Probuild, went into liquidation.

Victorian construction companies in particular have been hit hard.

Two building companies from Victoria were casualties of the crisis having gone into liquidation at the end of June, with one homeowner having forked out $300,000 for a now half-built house.

Then there have been smaller operators like Hotondo Homes Horsham, which was also based in Victoria and a franchisee of a national construction firm – which collapsed earlier this month affecting 11 homeowners with $1.2 million in outstanding debt.

It is the second Hotondo Homes franchisee to go under this year, with its Hobart branch collapsing in January owing $1.3 million to creditors, according to a report from liquidator Revive Financial.

Snowdon Developments was ordered into liquidation by the Supreme Court with 52 staff members, 550 homes and more than 250 creditors owed just under $18 million, although it was partially bought out less than 24 hours after going bust.

Others joined the list too including Inside Out Construction, Solido Builders, Waterford Homes, Affordable Modular Homes and Statement Builders.

The most recent collapse was NSW building company Willoughby Homes, which went into voluntary administration last week, leaving 44 homes in limbo.

News.com.au also raised questions about Sydney-based Ajit Constructions on Thursday after the builder hadn’t commenced construction for months, cleared up its offices without telling customers where it was going and disconnected its phone line.

There are between 10,000 to 12,000 residential building companies in Australia undertaking new homes or large renovation projects, a figure estimated by the APB.

A healthy construction industry is vital to a strong economy and ongoing growth, with the sector accounting for the employment of almost 9 per cent of Australian workers and 7.5 per cent of Australia’s GDP, according to CreditorWatch.

– with Sarah Sharples

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Business

RBA interest rates: Westpac decreases fixed rates as three big banks pass on full 0.50 percentage point rate hike

RBA interest rates: Westpac decreases fixed rates as three big banks pass on full 0.50 percentage point rate hike

Westpac Bank has made a surprising move, choosing to spare some customers from escalating price hike pain.

The big bank has announced it will be decreasing its four-year owner occupied fixed interest rate by one per cent, down to 4.99.

Westpac is the third of the big banks to announce its rate changes following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to increase the official cash rate by 0.50% per annum (pa) on Tuesday.

The big bank has unsurprisingly followed its rivals the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ in increasing its variable home loan interest rates.

The interest rate changes will come into effect for new and existing home loan variable rate products on Thursday, August 18.

Earlier today, ANZ joined CBA in announcing it will be passing on the hike to variable rate mortgages and one savings account by the full 0.50 percentage points.

The major bank said its up-scaled up mortgage rates will come into effect for both new and existing customers from Friday, August 12.

The lowest variable rate will now be increased to 3.69 per cent – ​​just under that of CBA, which pumped up its lowest rate to 3.79 per cent.

Both rates are at three-year highs.

The ANZ decision also included increasing the rate on its new ANZ Plus Save account by 0.50 percentage points to 2.50 per cent for balances up to $250,000, which will come into place on Monday.

The move came just hours after Australia’s biggest bank, the Commonwealth Bank, announced it will pass on the full 0.50 percentage point hike to its variable home loan customers and some savings customers.

CBA will bring its occupier principal and interest standard variable home loans rate to 5.8 per cent.

Uncharacteristically, Australia’s other big banks have been slow off the blocks following the RBA’s decision on Tuesday, with CBA’s competitors Westpac, NAB and ANZ yet to make their announcements.

Mortgage rates for new and existing customers at CBA will rise by 0.50 percentage points on August 12, with investor rates rising to 6.38 per cent.

Research director at RateCity.com.au Sally Tindall said while the CBA’s decision comes as no surprise, for customers who are already feeling the heat, this fourth hike is a “difficult pill to swallow”.

“From next week, CBA’s basic variable rate will hit a three-year high of 3.79 per cent – ​​a huge increase from three months ago when it was just 2.19 per cent,” she said.

For an owner-occupier with $500,000 debt and 25 years remaining, the 0.5 percentage point hike means they will see their monthly repayments rise by $140.

To ease the strain, Commonwealth Bank is cutting its lowest four-year fixed rate to 4.99 per cent – ​​a drop of 1.60 percentage points.

This special rate, which comes into play on Friday, is strictly for owner-occupiers paying principal and interest on a package rate ($395 annual fee) for a limited time.

While Ms Tindall said the “whopping cut” will make it the lowest in its category, she warned it may not necessarily be a good idea.

“People should think carefully about whether they want to lock up their mortgage for the next four years because there can be significant consequences if they decide to break their loan,” she said.

For those with a NetBank Saver account, who will see the full rate hike, the research director said an ongoing rate of just 0.85 still won’t cut it.

“In this market, where we could see ongoing rates over 3 per cent, these savers are still getting paid peanuts,” she said.

But Ms Tindall said there are signs things could be turning around.

“On Tuesday, Macquarie announced it was making significant cuts to its fixed rates and now CBA is following suit,” she said.

“We expect this will trigger further fixed rate cuts from other lenders in response to both evolving market expectations and competition among the banks.”

Read related topics:westpac

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Business

CBA responds to RBA interest rate hike, ANZ, NAB, Westpac stay silent

CBA responds to RBA interest rate hike, ANZ, NAB, Westpac stay silent

Australia’s largest bank has finally responded to the interest rate rise two days after it was initially announced.

On Thursday morning, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia revealed it will pass the full cost of the rate hike onto customers.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hiked interest rates on Tuesday for the fourth consecutive month.

Australia’s central bank increased the interest rate by 50 basis points, or by 0.5 per cent, bringing the cash rate from 1.35 per cent to 1.85 per cent, largely in line with economist’s predictions.

Up until now Australia’s biggest four banks — The Commonwealth Bank (CBA), ANZ, NAB and Westpac — hadn’t made any changes in response to the latest rate hike.

But just before 10am, the CBA said variable home loans would increase by 0.5 per cent per year from August 12 while term deposits would kick in with the higher return from August 8.

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The CBA’s variable mortgages as well as term deposit accounts and its NetBank Saver accounts will be impacted by the change.

Owner occupiers and investors on variable rate home loans will have to fork out an extra 0.5 per cent in interest every year.

Term deposits and CBA’s savings account will also increase by 0.5 per cent/

The new term deposit rate will be available from 8 August, while the new NetBank Saver rate will take effect on August 12 along with home loans.

Group Executive, Retail Banking, Angus Sullivan, said: “We have been helping customers understand the changing rate environment and consider what it means for them, and we will continue to be there for them.”

Since May, the cash rate has risen by 1.75 percentage points, after four months of back-to-back increases by the central bank.

However, the CBA is so far the only one of the big players to respond, and that was nearly 48 hours later.

In stark contrast, within hours of the announcement, a smaller bank, Macquarie Bank passed on the rate rise almost straight away.

Macquarie Bank was the first bank to say it would increase variable mortgage rates by 0.5 per cent by August 12.

Rates on its savings and everyday transaction accounts also increased by 0.50 per cent.

The move impacts the estimated 2 million people who are customers of Macquarie Bank.

However, CBA, ANZ, NAB and Westpac have between 8.5 million to 17 million customers each, according to Statista.

Last month, Westpac gave customers the most amount of time to prepare for a change in its variable mortgages and also its savings rates, taking two weeks for the change to come into effect – although it announced the change within 24 hours.

The other three banks passed the change onto customers within 10 days after a swift response.

The August hike isn’t expected to be the last, with economists forecasting that interest rates could peak up to two per cent by the end of the year.

Tuesday’s rate rise means those paying off the average home loan of $500,000 will need to cough up an extra $140 a month.

Tuesday’s decision marks the first time the RBA has lifted the rates for four months in a row since the introduction of the two to three per cent inflation target in 1990 in a sign of the inflation and cost of living crisis across the country.

This follows last week’s increase in annual inflation, which hit 6.1 per cent, which was its highest level in 21 years since 2001.

Tuesday’s rate rise means those paying off the average home loan of $500,000 will need to cough up an extra $140 a month.

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