Protesters gather outside Reserve Bank to rally against interest rate hikes

A group of protesters have gathered outside the Reserve Bank as Philip Lowe hands down his latest decision on interest rates.

Protesters assembled to demand more cost of living relief ahead of the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate decision.

Several dozen people, largely university students and young people, gathered in Martin Place outside the RBA headquarters.

The group were not deterred by the rainy weather or lack of umbrellas, holding signs and chanting.

A group of protesters gather outside the RBA building.

‘Tax the rich’ they could be heard chanting. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Some held signs saying “Eviction Notice” and “Can I be your roommate Phil?”, referring to Mr Lowe’s comment that those struggling with rising housing costs should invite others to live with them to keep costs down.

They were demanding more support from the government as the cost of living soars, mostly around housing and renting issues.

“We‘ve got a housing fix — tax the rich,” the group was heard chanting.

The protests come as the RBA held interest rates for the next month at 4.1 per cent.

In the RBA’s months-long mission to increase interest rates in order to combat inflation, it is only the second time the hikes have been paused.

In his monthly statement, Mr Lowe acknowledged that rates had lifted by 4 per cent since May 2022.

“The higher interest rates are working to establish a more sustainable balance between supply and demand in the economy and will continue to do so,” he said.

“In light of this and the uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, the board decided to hold interest rates steady this month.

“This will provide some time to assess the impact of the increase in interest rates to date and the economic outlook.”

There are fears for mortgage holders after months of rate hikes, as two-in-five Australian borrowers struggled to pay their home loan in June, the highest proportion since comparison site Finder began conducting the research in 2019.

There’s also more bad news for stretched-thin homeowners, with one-in-five mortgage holders knocked back when they tried to refinance their home in the past 12 months.

RBA governor Philip Lowe was the target of their protests. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

There are fears that some homeowners will fall off the mortgage cliff and be forced to sell. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

That’s an estimated 652,260 borrowers who are no longer able to switch banks, with half of those mortgage holders knocked back because they don’t earn enough money according to Finder’s research head Graham Cooke.

“Thousands of homeowners are sinking under the weight of their home loan but have nowhere left to go,“ he said.

“Lenders are turning away borrowers in droves who can’t comfortably service a new loan despite being more affordable than the one they are stuck with.”