The real story

If any Aussies knows others who've been taken in by the interest rate scare, here's some experts to educate them, thanks to http://www.smh.com.au/blogs/counterspin.html :

All major banks have set their fixed term interest rates for the next three years at lower than the current variable rate:

Westpac- 6.69% NAB - 6.89%
ANZ- 6.89% CBA - 6.95%

This means that none of the major banks expects interest rates to rise during the entire term of the next government - no matter who is in power. What do the experts say?

"There is absolutely no indication or any sign of home loan rates getting back to 18% under either a Coalition or a Labor government."
David Koch:'Sunrise', Channel 7

"I think under any government interest rates will remain low."
Rory Robertson: Macquarie Bank

"The Reserve Bank and our economy determine what interest rates are, not what John Howard thinks or Mark Latham - I mean that's just political crap."
Gerry Harvey: Harvey Norman chief executive

"Today's prosperity is largely due to those policies of the '80s. The Hawke administrations advanced the long-term national interest by deregulating the financial markets, floating the dollar, cutting import protection and privatising and deregulating inefficient state-run industries and produced substantial budget surpluses."
John Hyde: former Liberal MP

Australia's foreign debt has doubled under the Howard Government, hitting $393.5 billion - equivalent to a record 49.6 per cent of the economy.
Australian Bureau of Statistics

"Believe it or not, Australia has the highest interest rates of all the major developed economies...They are 180 times higher than Japan's, 3.3 times higher than the US's and 2.5 times higher than Canada's."
Kenneth Davidson: The Age

"Here's John Howard spending money like water as he seeks to buy his re-election, while claiming that only he can be trusted to keep the budget in perpetual surplus and thus keep interest rates low forever. Brushing aside the quite dishonest depiction of the factors that drive interest rates, this is the gaping contradiction of the election campaign. The man's hypocrisy is breathtaking."
Ross Gittins: SMH economics editor

The real story

If any Aussies knows others who've been taken in by the interest rate scare, here's some experts to educate them, thanks to http://www.smh.com.au/blogs/counterspin.html :

All major banks have set their fixed term interest rates for the next three years at lower than the current variable rate:

Westpac- 6.69% NAB - 6.89%
ANZ- 6.89% CBA - 6.95%

This means that none of the major banks expects interest rates to rise during the entire term of the next government - no matter who is in power. What do the experts say?

"There is absolutely no indication or any sign of home loan rates getting back to 18% under either a Coalition or a Labor government."
David Koch:'Sunrise', Channel 7

"I think under any government interest rates will remain low."
Rory Robertson: Macquarie Bank

"The Reserve Bank and our economy determine what interest rates are, not what John Howard thinks or Mark Latham - I mean that's just political crap."
Gerry Harvey: Harvey Norman chief executive

"Today's prosperity is largely due to those policies of the '80s. The Hawke administrations advanced the long-term national interest by deregulating the financial markets, floating the dollar, cutting import protection and privatising and deregulating inefficient state-run industries and produced substantial budget surpluses."
John Hyde: former Liberal MP

Australia's foreign debt has doubled under the Howard Government, hitting $393.5 billion - equivalent to a record 49.6 per cent of the economy.
Australian Bureau of Statistics

"Believe it or not, Australia has the highest interest rates of all the major developed economies...They are 180 times higher than Japan's, 3.3 times higher than the US's and 2.5 times higher than Canada's."
Kenneth Davidson: The Age

"Here's John Howard spending money like water as he seeks to buy his re-election, while claiming that only he can be trusted to keep the budget in perpetual surplus and thus keep interest rates low forever. Brushing aside the quite dishonest depiction of the factors that drive interest rates, this is the gaping contradiction of the election campaign. The man's hypocrisy is breathtaking."
Ross Gittins: SMH economics editor

(no subject)

It's very difficult to watch Idol when you have a budgie who insists on being the loudest thing in the room.

CJ wouldn't shut up while they were doing a rehash of the singers on last night's show (and was getting very piercing at times), and my brother said that on Sunday night, CJ was whistling at the end of every line of Marty's. Obviously didn't like the talk of broken wings.

(no subject)

It's very difficult to watch Idol when you have a budgie who insists on being the loudest thing in the room.

CJ wouldn't shut up while they were doing a rehash of the singers on last night's show (and was getting very piercing at times), and my brother said that on Sunday night, CJ was whistling at the end of every line of Marty's. Obviously didn't like the talk of broken wings.