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June 5th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda The federal Labor government’s promise to return the budget to surplus has reaped the “dividend” of an official interest rate cut that should immediately be passed on to borrowers, Treasurer Wayne Swan says.
But the opposition says Mr Swan is “delusional” to say the rate reduction is linked to the government’s fiscal strategy when it’s really a response to a weaker global outlook.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday followed up its 50 basis point reduction in May with a further 25 basis points cut to the cash rate at it June board meeting.
The official rate was lowered to 3.5 per cent, just shy of the emergency three per cent rate seen during the depths of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
“The board judged that, with modest domestic growth and a weaker and more uncertain international environment, the outlook for inflation afforded scope for a more accommodative stance of monetary policy,” RBA governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement.
The bank chief linked the move to a deteriorating outlook in Europe, which is facing heightened political uncertainty as well as concerns about fiscal sustainability and the strength of some banks.
Mr Swan said it was very disappointing European authorities had been so slow to resolve the continent’s problems but said Australians can be confident about the future.
“Our economic fundamentals are strong, we’ve got solid growth,” he told reporters in Canberra.
If the retail banks pass the reduction along in full to its customers, the average monthly repayment on an average $300,000 home loan will drop by just under $50.
“It’s a win for households and it’s a dividend of returning our budget to surplus,” Mr Swan said.
But bank customers would be “very angry” if the rate cut is not passed on.
The big four banks are reviewing their mortgage rates.
But the decision by the Bank of Queensland to lower variable lending rates by only 20 basis points, because of rising funding costs, could mean they too may not pass on the full cut.
Retail, union, farming and consumer groups on Tuesday called on the big banks to deliver, with many saying this would help boost confidence and spending.
Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said the rate cut had nothing to do with the government’s budget plans.
“The fact that the treasurer is somehow claiming these moves by the Reserve Bank to near emergency levels is somehow acknowledgment of his great performance as a treasurer simply reflects the delusional nature of the leadership of Australia,” he told reporters in Sydney.
The rate cut comes just a day before the release of the March quarter national accounts report, which is expected to show modest quarterly economic growth of around 0.6 per cent alongside an annual rate of just over three per cent.
The final components for growth released on Tuesday showed exports detracted a 0.5 percentage points from the economy in the quarter, while government spending provided a modest support.
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