SMH - Reserve fears it was used as election pawn

[ManlyBacker]

Prime Minister John Howard today denied heavying the Reserve Bank over interest rates.

He said it was proper for him to comment on rates and defended the Coalition's use of the interest rate card during the last election campaign.

"I would believe that under present settings any significant rise is very unlikely and also any significant reduction is unlikely," he told Melbourne radio 3AW .

"I wouldn't think there would a major variation in the next year. Now I use the word major variation in the next year, I don't think so. That is my view. In the end the Reserve Bank will make a decision."

"Now let me just say immediately, that is not heavying the Reserve Bank. It is being realistic on my part in expressing a view."

The Reserve Bank has reportedly forwarded complaints about the Coalition's use of the interest rates issue during last year's election campaign to the Australian Electoral Commission.

Mr Howard said it was proper for the prime minister to have a view on the economic debate.


Gosh, who would have thought!? :shock: :roll: !BDH!

 

[Canteen Worker]

An important government principle has always been the independence of the Reserve bank. Howard and his ilk have always resented the independence of anyone who isn't a crony.

Poor Govt! !wall: !wall: !wall: !wall: !wall: !wall: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :boho: :boho: :boho: :boho: :boho: :boho:

 

[fLIP]

"I wouldn't think there would a major variation in the next year. Now I use the word major variation in the next year, I don't think so. That is my view. In the end the Reserve Bank will make a decision."

Exactly how then, can this bloke possibley say that Labour drive the Interest Rates up???? This wasn't the case last year?

 

[ManlyBacker]

Finally found the original material from SMH:

The Reserve Bank was sufficiently concerned about the Coalition's election campaign claims about interest rates that it asked the Australian Electoral Commission to investigate.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, put interest rates at the centre of the election in October, campaigning on the claim that they would always be lower under a Coalition government than under Labor.

But voters, angry that some of the campaign claims were false and misleading, sent some of the Coalition's leaflets to the Reserve Bank and asked it to refer the material to the electoral commission.

The Reserve Bank, the authority charged with setting official interest rates, was deeply uneasy at the intense politicisation of rates, but it remained silent throughout the election campaign for fear of further politicising itself, officials said.

However, the central bank believed that some of the material in the Coalition's campaign leaflets was exaggerated and that some was factually wrong, the officials said.

 

[Fluffy]

i write this for byso - all just BS. thats his reaction to anything bad that little johnny does.

if its true arrest his ass and sack him from PM.

Bring in costello for the last year - labor will win by record margins

 

[fLIP]

I don't care how much they don't want to look political, can we not be told the truth by those who know best???

 

[Hopium]

Of course not... have you seen the board of the bank? Quite a few are Howards 'mates'.
LOL
Um and it's only the Governor General that can sack Howard... and he will not use the power, simply because of the misuse over Whitlam. Would be a bit of a faux-pas.
But Howard should resign anyways. He'll just be found to have lied or done something corrupted *again*. How many times are the idiotic public gonna fall for this prat??? AND to give him majority in the Senate too!!

STUPID STUPID STUPID

 

[byso]

Get Latham to take over.....he was the countries saviour at the last election wasn't he?

 

[Volley]

Time to get over Latham mate.

 

[Fluffy]

its byso's only saving grace - pick on the guy who had to retire due to ill health

 

[byso]

Time to get over Latham mate.

Why just making a point that there was great discussion prior to the election how good he was but the weeks after proved how bad he really was......His subsequent ill health was unfortunate.....but surely he wasn't destined to hang around long after his performance.

Sorry for pointing out the obvious again.

Fluffy :boho: :boho: :boho: :boho: :boho:

 

[CliffyIsGod]

Or how Latham kept on suggesting that if elected, Howard won't stay for the full term... Fat ****.

 

[Volley]

Yeah that's worse than all the **** Howard served up on a platter.

 

[Fluffy]

How dare he use something Howard had indicated to his advantage.

Latham was so bed he should have stuck to telling the truth about tax, interest rates, children overboard. Oh hang on he was it was that other bloke who lied his ass off.

 

[byso]

:blah: :blah: :boho: :boho: :boho: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: !wall: !wall: !BDH!
<span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Sat Apr 09 2005, 10:10AM ]</span>

 

[Fluffy]

I accept your surrender byso

 

[byso]

Nah just a little bored...............

 

[Hopium]

Byso, you lose.
You have issues man... real big issues.

 

[byso]

Hopium........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Get over yourself......if you can't discuss topics without taking yourself too seriously then I simply won't bother.

 

[Hopium]

You first.