There’s a saying in financial markets: interest rate hikes are like cockroaches – there’s never just one.

The Reserve Bank’s first hike in its cash rate in 11 years will inevitably be followed by a second, and a third, and… who knows? Governor Philip Lowe said on Tuesday it was “not unreasonable” to expect the cash rate to climb to 2.5%.

If fully passed on, such a series of hikes would raise the cost of servicing a $500,000 mortgage by $600. The first instalment lifts it by $65.

Former Reserve Bank official Isaac Gross argues, Lowe had no choice but to act, and will have to act many more times. In a separate analysis, I put the case for hastening slowly. Inflation might already be coming down.

The cost of living ranked highly as a concern for the 10,000 readers who took our recent #SetTheAgenda poll. Feel free to join me, Julie Toth and John Hawkins for this live online Q&A about cost of living and the election, tomorrow (Thursday) at 12.30pm AEST on The Conversation’s Facebook page.

Peter Martin

Section Editor: Business + Economy

RBA Governor Philip Lowe is hiking interest rates. Worst case, it’ll mean an extra $600 per month on a $500,000 mortgage

Isaac Gross, Monash University

Governor Philip Lowe says it is “not unreasonable” to expect the cash rate to climb to 2.5%. That’s an extra $600 to service a $500,000 mortgage.

Why the RBA should go easy on interest rate hikes: inflation may already be retreating and going too hard risks a recession

Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

Why raise rates now, for the first time in more than a decade? If the Reserve Bank isn’t careful, too many more rate hikes like this might help bring on a recession.

View from The Hill: The interest rate rise is a political wild card

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

The Reserve Bank, as expected, has thrown its grenade into the election campaign, but neither government nor opposition can be sure which side will be more damaged, or advantaged, by the explosion.

How the Liberals lost the ‘moral middle class’ - and now the teal independents may well cash in

Judith Brett, La Trobe University

The strength of support for the teal independents reveals a fracturing of support for the Liberal Party in its traditional strongholds.

US supreme court poised to overturn abortion law: what the leaked opinion says and what happens next

Emma Long, University of East Anglia

What is the draft opinion about the landmark US abortion decision Roe v. Wade and how did we find out about it?

Centre-left parties worldwide have struggled to reinvent themselves – what kind of ALP is fighting this election?

Rob Manwaring, Flinders University; Charlie Lees, Flinders University; Grant Duncan, Massey University

Anxious not to be easy targets for their pro-business opponents, labour parties everywhere now run on a ‘thin ideological platform’. Anthony Albanese’s ALP is no exception.

Toughness has limits: over 1,100 species live in Antarctica – but they’re at risk from human activity

Laura Phillips, Monash University; Rachel Leihy, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research

We compiled the first list of Antarctic species and where they were first found. This knowledge means we can now protect all of the icy continent’s species.

How do the major parties rate on Medicare? We asked 5 experts

Jim Gillespie, University of Sydney; Lesley Russell, University of Sydney; Richard Norman, Curtin University; Rosemary V Calder, Victoria University; Stephen Duckett, The University of Melbourne

Medicare has been mentioned a lot this election campaign. But what have the major parties actually promised? Five experts grade their policies.

Politics + Society

Health + Medicine

Science + Technology

Environment + Energy

Arts + Culture

Books + Ideas

 

Featured jobs

Research Associate in Bushfire Science

— Canberra ACT, Australia

More Jobs
 
 
 
 
 
 

Featured Events, Courses & Podcasts

Below the Line, a new political podcast from The Conversation

— Victoria, Australia — The Conversation

Editors’ Forum: Election 2022

— Melbourne University Forum Theatre (153), Arts West - North Wing (148A), Victoria, Australia — The University of Melbourne

The Space Economy: How can investing in space technology benefit the nation?

— Online webinar, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia — University of Technology Sydney

ECU Lecture Series - From TikTok to Pegasus: Communicating cyber to the masses

— 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western Australia, 6027, Australia — Edith Cowan University

More events, courses & podcasts
 

​Contact us here to list your job, or here to list your event, course or podcast.

For sponsorship opportunities, email us here