Australian Gov't should act to keep AUD lower: Coalition

The Australian dollar's trajectory toward parity with the U.S. dollar is a reflection of bad economic management by the government, the Australian Coalition said on Monday.

The Australian dollar has reached a 28-year high of 99.18 U.S. cents on Thursday night, but market watchers are expecting the currency to reach parity with the greenback.

According to opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb, the situation is good for those traveling to the U.S., otherwise it is a big concern.

Interest rates were higher than they should be, because our major competitors were artificially holding their currencies down, Robb said.

"We've got nothing to celebrate if we're causing the exchange rate to be higher because of poor government performance on the productivity and spending front," he told ABC Radio on Monday.

The government should act to keep the Australian dollar lower, Robb said.

"All we're doing is penalizing our manufacturers who export, our farmers who export, our tourist operators."

Meanwhile, Queensland independent Member of Parliament (MP) Bob Katter said parity risked destroying the metals and sugar industry, added that the cattle industry was already in desperate straits.

"Everyone knows what's causing it, our interest rates are 450 percent higher than our nearest rivals, Europe," Katter told ABC Radio.

"Our country is going broke at a hundred miles an hour."

Katter echoed Robb's call to bring interest rates down.

He said the dollar should "come down to where it was in (former Treasurer and Prime Minister Paul) Keating's day" -- about 60 U.S. cents.

Source: Xinhua