While hopeful that the Australian economy does not fall into a recession, Yellow Brick Road founder, Mark Bouris says its merits should not be overlooked if needed to protect living standards.
Appearing on Samantha Armytage’s podcast Something to Talk About, the Greek Australian entrepreneur said inflation needed to be brought under control as a matter of urgency to ensure Australians could afford repayments and still put food on the table.
Drawing a comparison to the US Federal Reserve’s “aggressive approach” of cutting interest rates, he said: “I don’t think our Reserve Bank is showing the same amount of tenacity towards chasing this reduction in inflation as much as the US is.”
“The Reserve Bank’s job is to look after the welfare of all Australians as well as the prosperity of all Australians.
“Recessions control inflation. The thinking around this is that you’ll never forget it. And from then on, you’ll have a certain caution around how you spend.”
Bouris’ statements bear a striking similarity to former Prime Minister Paul Keating’s “this is the recession that Australia had to have” in the early 1990s, a recession that Bouris said was effective in keeping inflation steady from 1995 to 2022.
The former host of The Apprentice Australia said frivolous spending was at an all-time high, which he attributed to internet shopping and credit card use.
“We’ve got to build this caution a little bit more than we have in the past because it’s too easy to spend today,” Bouris said.
He added that if inflation wasn’t controlled, young people and lower socio-economic demographics would be hit the hardest.
“Because they can’t afford to buy food and/or find a house to rent. And we have a rental inflation environment going on at the moment,” he said.
“Also, their lifestyle, their standard living gets affected, because they can’t find a house to rent which is near where they work, which means they’ve got a lot more travelling to do … it’s a nightmare for them.”
READ MORE: Greek Community of Melbourne honours Mark Bouris’ contribution to Greek Australian community
SOURCE: Herald Sun
