‘Barely able to cope’: Sunrise host Natalie Barr clashes with Anthony Albanese over rising interest rates, cost of living pressure

Sunrise host Natalie Barr shared a grim story from a viewer during an interview with Anthony Albanese about the impact of rising interest rates on Aussie families.

Sunrise host Natalie Barr has shared a harrowing story about schoolkids stealing lunches from classmates during a heated interview with Anthony Albanese about rising interest rates.

During a media blitz of breakfast television this morning, Anthony Albanese was grilled over the Reserve Bank’s warning that interest rate hikes may not be over yet.

Rates were left on hold by the RBA at 4.1 percent but there was a warning that inflation remains too high.

Barr revealed the program was being inundated by emails from viewers who were really struggling to cope.

“We hear this morning, Prime Minister, that students are pretending to go to the toilet at school, then they are rummaging through other kids’ bags to steal their lunches. That’s coinciding with the interest rate rises. This is under your watch,’’ she said.

“How do you feel about that?”

“Well, I know what it’s like to do it tough, Nat. And for many families out there, they are doing it tough,’’ Mr Albanse responded.

“And that’s why my Government will work each and every day to make a difference.”

On interest rates, Barr noted that “a third of Australians have mortgages. And they are being smashed.”

“They are writing to us every day. They are barely able to cope. We know that. But someone is still spending. Retail spending is up.”

During a media blitz of breakfast television this morning, Anthony Albanese was grilled over rising interest rates. Picture: Seven

It was a similar story on the Today show, where host Karl Stefanovic warned the Prime Minister that rising rates could make or break his government, predicting will “turn on you” if it continues.

“I am one of millions of Australians who welcomed the decision of the Reserve Bank yesterday,’’ Mr Albanese said.

But Karl Stefanovic shot back that it was “nothing to celebrate” given the warnings that future hikes may follow as he suggested it was “a stay of mortgage execution isn’t it?”

“PM, if you don’t get this right they will turn on you,’’ he warned.

“I get that people are doing it tough,’’ Mr Albanese responded.

“For me this isn’t about politics, this is about assisting people. I know what it’s like to do it tough, and I get that people out there are under pressure and that’s why the Government is doing everything we can.”

Sunrise host Natalie Barr shared a story from a viewer, who claimed students were faking toilet trips to steal other kids’ lunches at school. Picture: Seven

Speaking on ABC TV, Mr Albanese said that inflation was above the target range but heading in the right direction.

“It would appear that it peaked over the summer period, and has been heading downwards,’’ he said.

“That’s a good thing. So, what we see are some key economic indicators that are good. We’ve had record jobs growth of 465,000 in our first year. We have lower inflation. And we have a higher surplus so that fiscal policy is working with monetary policy.

“But we know at the same time, so many Australians are doing it tough.”

Host Michael Rowland asked, given the surplus was forecast to hit around $20 billion, if there was scope to provide more cost of living relief to struggling Australians?

Mr Albanese noted that cheaper child care kicked in on July 1, along with other measures.

“We saw paid parental leave be extended. We saw a tripling of the Medicare bulk billing rate so that more Australians, 11 million Australians, can see a doctor for free,’’ he said.

“We saw Energy Price Relief, a $3 billion plan between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to take that pressure off energy price increases as well.

“We do need to understand, of course, that if the Government just splashed money around, that would put upward pressure when it comes to inflation, which would work counter to what the Reserve Bank is doing on monetary policy.”

Originally published as ‘Barely able to cope’: Sunrise host Natalie Barr clashes with Anthony Albanese over rising interest rates, cost of living pressure