00:00It doesn't make life any easier for people, but it doesn't make life harder either.
00:04We welcome this decision from the Independent Reserve Bank to keep rates steady.
00:09This is the first interest rates decision since the very responsible budget that we handed down not that long ago.
00:17And since then, we've seen some very welcome developments in the Middle East as well.
00:23In Australia, we've seen inflation come off a bit, but we still know that those inflationary pressures are there,
00:29made worse by the war in the Middle East and its aftermath.
00:33We've seen inflation come off a little bit in Australia in the most recent data,
00:37but we've seen it go up in Europe, in the US and Canada.
00:41And of course, we've just seen the Japanese central bank raise interest rates.
00:46Now, we know that the global economic situation is still difficult,
00:52despite the welcome progress that we've seen in the Middle East in recent days.
00:56We know that when that document is signed in Geneva, we know that when the Strait of Hormuz is open,
01:03we know that there will be some costs and consequences of this conflict still felt in our economy
01:09and in the global economy for some time as well.
01:12So we're very pleased with developments in the Middle East,
01:15but we're realistic about how long it will take for the global economy to normalise and what that means for
01:21us.
01:22The end of this war can't come soon enough.
01:24Australians have already paid a really hefty price for this conflict on the other side of the world,
01:31and there are more costs and consequences to play out in the long tail after this conflict as well.
01:38You can see that in our budget forecasts.
01:41We still expect the situation in the Middle East to put upward pressure on inflation
01:46and to weigh heavily on global growth and growth in our own economy as well.
01:52As the Reserve Bank pointed out in its statement today,
01:55the impact of this war is being felt, first of all, when it comes to global energy prices,
02:01particularly liquid fuels,
02:03but it's also spreading more broadly in our economy and in other economies as well.
02:09We know that Australians are still under pressure.
02:12That's why we're providing help with the cost of living.
02:14We're cutting taxes five times in three different ways,
02:18making medicines cheaper,
02:19supporting increases to the minimum and award wages,
02:23strengthening Medicare right across the board,
02:25doing what we responsibly can to help Australians with the cost of living.
02:29This decision by the Reserve Bank today is very welcome
02:33in the context of Australians still under pressure
02:36and these global pressures intensifying in recent times as well.
02:42So a welcome decision in the face of all this global economic uncertainty,
02:45a welcome reprieve for millions of Australians with a mortgage,
02:51and we expect a lot of Australians to see today's interest rate hold in that light.
03:02You
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