Mortgage stress: Albo failure to launch on basic budget pressures

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has made headlines for all the wrong reasons on Day 1 of his election campaign.

In a shocking start to his campaign Labor leader Anthony Albanese floundered when asked to name what the interest rates and unemployment rates were, undermining his claims to be in touch with voters and a promise to boost wages.

It was a stunning stumble on day one which will set the scene on the weeks to come and hound him throughout the campaign.

Seizing on the fumble, the Coalition slammed the Opposition leader and said he could not be trusted to keep pressure on interest rates and people in jobs if he did not know what they were.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese trips up on questions about the economy. Photo: News Corp Australia

Undermining his party’s own claims the Coalition will push up mortgages, Mr Albanese was unable to say what the interest rates are currently set at despite them having remained at 0.1 per cent since November 2020.

They will become a major issue for whoever wins government, with economists predicting four to six interest rate rises within the next year, peaking about 1.5 per cent by July 2023.

Rising interest rates will put huge pressures on family budgets as they pay off mortgages.

In a basic failure, Mr Albanese was unable to name the unemployment rate, 4 per cent, when asked, despite getting more people in jobs being a key Labor promise.

“The national unemployment rate at the moment is … I think it’s 5.4 – sorry. I’m not sure what it is,” he said.

“We can do the old Q and A over 50 different figures … the Reserve Bank have said that they will be multiple interest rate increases regardless of who is in government.”

At a later photo opportunity, Mr Albanese made sure to tell voters he had the figures now.

“Earlier today I made a mistake. But when I make a mistake I’ll fess up to it and I’ll set about correcting that mistake. I won’t blame someone else. I’ll accept responsibility. That’s what leaders do,” he said.

Labor’s finance spokeswoman Senator Katy Gallagher does know the cash rate and unemployment rate. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Labor’s Finance spokeswoman Katy Gallagher was able to name the cash and unemployment rates.

“The Reserve Bank current rate is point one and the unemployment rate is at four per cent,” she said.

Senior Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek, campaigning in the seat of Brisbane on Monday, defended Mr Albanese, saying the election was not a “test of memory” but a “test of leadership”.

Ms Plibersek, when asked, was able to identify the cash and unemployment rate including the specific jobless percentage in Queensland.

“I think this is an absolutely ridiculous test to set,” she said.

“We know Anthony Albanese is out talking every day to unemployed Australians … but (also) underemployed Australians.”

Queensland’s own unemployment rate remains slightly higher at 4.3 per cent.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison was prepared when asked the same question, after the Labor leader’s misfortune.

“The unemployment rate I’m happy to say is 4 per cent, falling to a 50 year low. It came down from 5.7 per cent when we were first elected,” he said.

But Mr Morrison had his own fumble when he was unable to name the price of grocery staples like bread, milk and petrol.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham ridiculed the Opposition leader for failing to know basic pressures on families.

“It’s about how many Australians are in a job. It’s about how many Australians are earning a wage to support themselves and their family,” he said.

“If you don’t know what the interest rate is, you can’t be trusted to put the right policies in place to keep them low.”

Griffith University associate professor and political expert Paul Williams said it was not fatal, but a poor start for the Albanese campaign.

“It weakens their message that the Prime Minister is out of touch,” he said.

“It’s poor not just because we expected our Prime Minister and alternative Prime Minister to know these things, but because Albanese and Labor have formed their campaign around cost of living.

“It’s an own goal. A seasoned politician like Albanese shouldn’t be making those amateur errors.”