It's a bit OT, but the Australian economy is out performing most. To understand the current issue with interest rates requires more than just the popular headlines. A good example of one of the factors can be read in this piece:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/09/3211033.htmManufacturing in Australia has been in decline even when it was USD0.48 to AUD1. Tourism and some exports are suffering, but other exports (raw materials) are benefiting, which is why we currently have a two-speed economy.
Relatively high interest rates are a sign of a growing economy, low unemployment and are creating a shift that is adjusting the housing market without crashing it as well as encouraging savings (which have historically been much lower here than other OECD economies).
We're currently paying back the debt incurred in avoiding a recession during the GFC - it was always going to happen, but it's part of a flattening of the boom-bust cycle and it's a lot less painful than riding the highs followed by the lows (just ask most of our friends here in the US and Europe).
Our banking system has come through the GFC as probably the most robust in the OECD.
Overall, we're doing reasonably well. Employment is good, inflation is in check, interest rates are historically pretty much normal, we're seeing economic growth despite local natural disasters and others in the region and with our trading partners. Business and consumer confidence would best be described as circumspect, but that's appropriate given the last few years.
Also, bear in mind that the AUD's appreciation against the USD and the JPY is more about the devaluation of the others than the appreciation of the AUD (although the AUD is now gaining its own momentum and additional value, as noted in the article linked above).