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Enough ... Credit cards are a rip off, says Sunrise host David Koch. Source: Channel 7
EVERY Australian is being “ripped off’ by credit cards — that’s the message money expert and TV personality David Koch will deliver on Thursday when he appears as a witness at a Senate inquiry into the nation’s $50 billion pile of plastic debt.
In a first, the host of Channel Seven’s Sunrise show will be part of a panel of high-profile finance commentators who will give evidence in Sydney. The others on the panel will be Channel Nine’s Ross Greenwood and Paul Clitheroe, host of the “Talking Money†radio show.
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Panel ... Ross Greenwood with Ellen Fanning, who both hosted Nine’s Sunday program. Picture: Brianne Makin. Source: News Corp Australia
“Everyone is sick of hearing from politicians and bureaucrats,†said Labor’s Sam Dastyari, chairman of the Senate Economic References Committee.
“We need to make sure there are a range of voices in this debate and Kochie, Ross and Paul are leaders in this field.â€
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Credit talk ... Paul Clitheroe, money commentator and financial adviser. Picture: Simon Bullard Source: News Corp Australia
Koch said that while Australia needed strong banks, they didn’t have a “birthright to make super-profitsâ€.
“The average Australian gets fleeced every step of the way with their credit cards,†Koch said, from over-the-top surcharges for using a card through to interest rates that haven’t responded to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s moves to lower borrowing costs.
Koch said it was “really unconscionable†that the minimum monthly repayment did not cover the interest on a credit card. This was a bank “tactic to maximise their profit to the disadvantage of the customersâ€.
Australia’s banks were the most profitable in the world, he said.
“My view is every single Australian is ripped off in some way with credit cards,†Koch said.
Greenwood and Clitheroe did not return calls yesterday.
Debt questions ... Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who chairs the committee examining credit cards. Source: Supplied
It’s thought to be the first time media personalities have given evidence before a parliamentary economics committee. It does happen in the US, Senator Dastyari said.
Liberal senator and references committee deputy chairman Sean Edwards said the credit card issue was “massiveâ€.
“It transcends all politics,†Senator Edwards said. “The banks say it’s all apples. Well we’ll get to the bottom of that.â€
Now that’s an apple ... Liberal senator Sean Edwards with Prime Minister Tony Abbott sample some South Australia’s finest at the Pooraka Fresh Food Market. Picture: AAP Source: AAP