Collectively, these changes will help with cost-of-living pressures and free up income to spend on other things. From this perspective, these changes are good news. So these are some of the main issues we have been working our way through. As you are aware, the Reserve Bank Board has held the cash rate steady at 1½ per cent since August 2016.
Prudent fiscal policies help, for instance, to avoid unnecessarily abrupt adjustments, as well as contributing to lower risk premia on long-term interest rates and thereby giving rise to more favourable financing conditions, which in turn promotes investment and long-term growth. It is important that all governments comply with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact as regards fiscal consolidation.