In Question Time yesterday, Mark Latham asked this question:-
"My question is to the Treasurer. Given the Treasurer's endorsement of the OECD growth forecasts, does he also endorse its prediction of interest rate rises in 2004, with the Reserve Bank lifting rates by up to one per cent?
This is the OECD's table of interest rate assumptions:-
Short-term interest rates
| 2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2003 Q4 |
2004 Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
2005 Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
|
Australia |
4.7 |
4.8 |
5.0 |
5.4 |
4.9 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
5.3 |
5.5 |
5.5 |
5.5 |
Austria |
|||||||||||||
Belgium |
|||||||||||||
Canada |
2.6 |
2.9 |
3.1 |
4.1 |
2.7 |
2.8 |
2.9 |
3.3 |
3.5 |
3.7 |
4.0 |
4.2 |
4.4 |
Czech Republic |
3.5 |
2.3 |
2.1 |
2.2 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.3 |
2.6 |
Denmark |
3.5 |
2.4 |
2.2 |
2.3 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
2.4 |
2.7 |
The underlying assumption for the OECD Report is no interest rate change in 2004.
Mr Latham had all day to prepare his question. He couldn't read a basic economic table.
No amount of obfuscation will cover that fact.