More than half of Australians say they are now struggling financially, with 12 interest rate rises having a negative impact on household budgets, according to new polling.
In the latest Essential poll of 1,049 voters, 22% said interest rate rises were having a “very negative” impact on them, up three points since February, with a further 31% saying the personal impact was “somewhat negative”.
The Reserve Bank has raised the cash rate 12 times since the latest contractionary cycle began in May 2022, with interest rates lifted from emergency levels during the Covid economic downturn to combat soaring inflation.
The poll results, released on Tuesday, come as the Reserve Bank board is meeting in Sydney to decide whether to raise the cash rate in response to inflation falling at a slower than expected pace.
About a third of respondents (32%) said the rises had no impact on them, while a small proportion said they were “very positive” (3%) or “somewhat positive” (12%).
More than half of respondents (56%) think rates will continue to rise and are yet to reach their peak, down seven points from June. Some 36% think rates have “reached the peak but they won’t go back down for a while”. Just 8% think they have reached their peak and “will start to fall soon”.
Households’ personal finances are under strain, with 41% saying they are “struggling a bit”, watching their budget to pay bills; and 13% reporting they are “in serious difficulty”, meaning “being able to pay all the bills is a regular concern”.
In total 53% report they are financially struggling or in serious difficulty, up seven points.
A minority (47%) now report being “secure” because they are “able to pay bills and usually have money spare for savings or buying luxuries” (35%) or are “comfortable” because they “don’t have to worry about paying bills … have savings and enough to buy luxuries” (12%).
On Monday the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, defended his trip to China while Australians are struggling with the cost of living and face another potential rate rise.
Albanese said the delegation included meeting with 250 Australian businesses, which is “about Australian jobs and has an impact on our economy” and on inflation.
“It has an impact on how successful we are,” he told Australian reporters in China. “We’re a trading nation, this is very much in Australia’s national interest for us to be engaged.”
The Essential poll found the Coalition, with a primary vote of 34%, has overtaken Labor, on 32%, while the Greens primary vote has crashed to 10%.
On the two-party-preferred plus measure, Labor leads the Coalition 48% to 46%, with a further 6% undecided.
Albanese has a positive approval rating, with 46% approving of his performance and 43% disapproving.
A further 48% of respondents described Australia as being on the “wrong track”, 34% said it is on the right track, and 18% were unsure.
