Increased interest rates must prompt government action.

As a result of the tenth straight rise in interest rates, there have been urgent calls for more social housing to protect renters from rising costs.

Australians are spending an increasing amount on housing, according to Maiy Azize, a spokesperson for Everybody's Home, who urged the government to take action and fund more social housing.

Everyone suffers as a result of rising interest rates. People are spending an increasing amount on housing, and rents are rising, according to Ms. Azize.

At the bottom of the ladder are renters. In addition to having to deal with record-high rent, they are also missing out on much-needed assistance because billions of dollars are spent on tax breaks for landlords.

"Many people are left with nowhere to turn and are forced to accept rent increases. Finding another rental is not an option because of the low vacancy rates across the nation. And with 500,000 social homes needed, renters in need are essentially trapped.

"The government needs to take charge and act now. The hundreds of millions of dollars we spend supporting landlords would be better used to assist low-income renters and construct more social housing.

Even when interest rates were at record lows, the private market wasn't able to provide affordable rent or social housing for those in need. The Government must construct the homes that Australians require in order to make it happen now that rates are rising.

"We demand that the Federal Government begin constructing 25,000 social homes annually. There is no time to waste because thousands of Australians are experiencing rental stress and because the shortfall is expanding annually,” she said.

Meanwhile, incoming CFMEU National Secretary,\ Zach Smith said , The RBA's model is broken and we need to do more than tinker with its charter — we need a complete refresh. Greedy corporations caused this inflation crisis by jacking up prices and trousering massive profits. And how does the RBA respond? By belting ordinary working people who did nothing to create the problem.

‘Successive blows with the blunt instrument of interest rates have inflicted serious pain on many Australians,’ National President Mark Gaetani said.

‘Today’s blow from the Reserve Bank of Australia will force many Australians to their knees just as they need a hand up.

‘Australians are struggling – spiralling inflation has taken life’s essentials out of reach, housing is unaffordable, unemployment is rising, real wages are plummeting, and savings are at very low levels.

‘Low-income households are in acute pain, with discretionary cashflow for the bottom 20 per cent of income earners falling 24 per cent in 2023.

‘The Society, like many charities, is witnessing unprecedented demand for support as more Australians struggle to survive the cost-of-living crisis,’ Mr Gaetani said.

The Society calls on the Reserve Bank of Australia to halt further interest rate increases.

‘With inflation starting to trend lower, the RBA must stop inflicting pain on Australia’s most vulnerable people and halt further interest rate rises until the full impact of 10 consecutive increases can be property assessed,’ Mr Gaetani said.

The Society is urging the Albanese Government to provide immediate cost-of-living relief for    Australians in the upcoming budget.

‘The Society calls on the Albanese Government to increase JobSeeker and other income support payments in the upcoming Federal Budget,’ Mr Gaetani said.

‘JobSeeker traps recipients in poverty and cycles of ever-increasing despair,’ Mr Gaetani said.

The Society believes that a fair Australia is one in which everyone can live with dignity. Income support payments were designed to provide a safety net to allow Australians to live with dignity and to contribute to their families and the community.

‘Today, Australia’s social safety net is in tatters,’ Mr Gaetani said.

‘More and more Australians on income support payments are living in poverty and despair, with lifelong consequences for children,’ Mr Gaetani said.

The Society has urged the Government to adopt a range of simple, affordable changes to the tax and super system to free up funding to fix Australia’s broken income support system and housing crisis.

A Fairer Tax and Welfare System in Australia, commissioned by the Society, models three different options that would lift up to one million people out of poverty. All three options require the Stage 3 tax cuts to be discontinued.

‘These funds would be better spent supporting people out of poverty,’ Mr Gaetani said.

The building and construction industry understands how hard it was for the Reserve Bank of Australia to decide to raise interest rates today. However, Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says that if the Reserve Bank of Australia doesn't take other steps to control inflation, the industry and homeowners will have to deal with the worst of the current economic problems.

A strong building industry means a strong economy. The industry is an important pillar of the Australian economy, generating jobs and providing homes and infrastructure for the community.

However, rising inflation and interest rates have already forced building and construction activity to slow sharply making it much harder to deliver the housing and infrastructure needs for Australians. Today’s RBA statement notes how accelerating rental prices are already contributing to inflationary pressures across the economy. Further interest rate increases will deepen the new home building downturn and magnify these rental market pressures.

New home building activity has dropped to its lowest monthly number in over a decade, decreasing by 27.6 per cent in January alone. Separate lending data shows that loans for the purchase of new homes have fallen to their lowest level since November 2008, according to the ABS’s January figures.

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