An ABC radio broadcaster has revealed she sometimes works a second job as Australians battle the worst cost of living crisis in more than three decades.
Anna Moulder, who hosts the Drive program across regional NSW, told her listeners she occasionally sought permission to work on the side as an emcee to boost her earnings.
‘Certainly, working for an organisation like the ABC, I have to get any other work approved by management,’ she said.
‘I do the odd emcee gig here and there. That all has to be pre-approved by management – not everything gets approved of course.
‘Working full-time with two little kids, there’s not a lot of extra hours in the day or week to add in another job.’
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Anna Moulder (centre with singers Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham), who hosts the Drive program across regional NSW, told her listeners she occasionally sought permission to work on the side as an emcee to boost her earnings
A listener had texted shortly after 5pm.
‘Thanks for your question, Karen. Hopefully I’ve answered that honestly enough for you,’ Moulder said.
She made the admission at the end of a segment discussing Australians taking on extra jobs to deal with inflation running at 7.8 per cent – the highest level since 1990.
The Tamworth-based broadcaster declined to elaborate on whether she worked as an emcee to pay the bills when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
In her part of north-west New South Wales, the median house price of $543,586 in North Tamworth is less than half Sydney’s equivalent mid-point of $1,205,618.
But even in regional areas, mortgage stress is biting as incomes fail to keep pace with rising monthly repayments and living costs.
Older Australians are affected too, with a Seniors Australia survey of 5,000 people over 50 showing 73 per cent would cut back on spending.
One in five, or 18 per cent, said they would either do extra work or delay retirement.
Anna Moulder (right with musician Tom Kennelly) made the admission at the end of a segment discussing Australians, who mainly work part-time, taking on extra jobs to deal with inflation running at 7.8 per cent – the highest since 1990
Greg Jericho, the policy director at The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, said people doing extra jobs were less likely to be in full-time work after Moulder suggested they would be doing long hours.
‘Most of the people that are working multiple jobs are already working in a part-time job,’ he told Moulder’s ABC program on Monday afternoon.
‘So it’s more a case that it is part-timers who are finding that they actually need to do two part-time jobs.’
The Reserve Bank’s nine interest rate rises have taken the cash rate to a new 10-year high of 3.35 per cent with the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ expecting two more increases by April or May that would take it to 3.85 per cent.
Greg Jericho, the policy director at The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, said people doing extra jobs were less likely to be in full-time work after Moulder suggested they would be doing long hours (pictured is a Woolworths delivery driver)
Borrowers with an average, $600,000 mortgage are already paying almost $12,000 more a year in repayments following a 43 per cent surge in monthly costs since May, 2022.
Working age Australians last year saw their living costs surge by 9.3 per cent, as mortgage costs soared by 26.6 per cent with that figure including those still on ultra-low fixed mortgage rates, the Australian Bureau of Statistics calculated.
ABC staff from Wednesday are voting on whether to take protected industrial action with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance sending union members a group email on Tuesday afternoon.
The public broadcaster on Friday offered staff a one-off payment of $1,500 in the first year along with a 4 per cent pay rise, followed by a 3.5 per cent increase in the second year and 3 per cent in the third year of the enterprise agreement.
The annual increase, at least in the first year, would mean ABC staff would be taking a cut in real wages with the pay increase well below inflation.
