Today the independent Reserve Bank of Australia Monetary Policy Board decided to lower the cash rate again for the second time in three months.
This quarter of a percentage point cut brings the cash rate to 3.85 per cent.
This is very welcome relief for millions of Australians.
We are really pleased to see more help for hard working families with a mortgage.
It reflects the substantial and sustained progress we've made together on inflation, and it recognises the uncertain global environment.
Headline and underlying inflation are now both in the RBA's target band for the first time in almost four years.
This is the first time since records began that the unemployment rate has been in the low 4s and headline and underlying inflation are in the RBA's target band at the same time.
In its statement today, the RBA Monetary Policy Board points to the very substantial progress we've made on inflation and says upside risks to inflation "appear to have diminished".
Today's cut doesn't mean the job is finished, but it will help.
When we came to office three years ago this week inflation and interest rates were rising and now they're falling.
For a household with a mortgage of $500,000, this rate cut will save them $79 a month, or $948 per year.
When combined with the cut in February, this household will save $159 a month, or $1,908 per year.
Under Labor, inflation is down substantially, real wages are up, unemployment is low, our economy is growing, and interest rates are falling.
Our economic strategy has been about getting on top of inflation without mass job losses or growth going backwards and that's what we're seeing in our economy.
All the progress we have made together engineering this soft landing means we are well‑placed and well‑prepared for what's next.
We know we will be faced with more global economic volatility and unpredictability over the next three years, not less.
