The ABC's Faine hosts a morning radio talk program in Melbourne, and on Wednesday, after the Reserve Bank grievously upset Howard and Costello by yet again increasing the official interest rate just 2½ weeks before polling day, Faine told his listeners a very jolly story. 

This is what Faine said: "Since it's the season for radio broadcasters to talk about conversations they've had that were on the record but at the time were not particularly interesting, there's some hindsight shedding a new light on [this one]. When Peter Costello came in here in late September, early October, for one of the regular interviews he's done in the studio, we had just passed the date by which the election had to be called if it was to be held last weekend. 

"And I said to him, whilst we were mucking around, you know, during the news, all that sort of thing, I said: 'I can't believe you haven't called the election to get it out of the way before the Cup Day interest rate rise. Surely you're going to take a risk now of running an election campaign with the risk of an interest rate rise during the campaign.' 

"He looked me in the eye, he put his thumb down as he sat there in the chair, and he said: 'There will not be a rate rise in November. Take it from me.' 

"I said, 'You might be right, you might be wrong, but you're prepared to punt on it?'

And he said 'There will not be a rate rise in November.' " 

Jungle Boys Up To Monkey Business