Tag: Cost of living
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Power prices to rise, secret department documents warn
Household power prices are expected to rise this financial year and Australia’s emissions reductions will need to become much more ambitious, secret advice to the nation’s energy minister shows. The federal government has handed over briefing notes written by Chris Bowen’s department at the start of this parliamentary term, after a months-long fight to keep…
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Australia’s standard of living is falling, here’s how to bring it back
Productivity might be the word on everyone’s lips in the lead up to the Albanese government’s economic reform roundtable. However, weak productivity isn’t the cause of many of the problems experienced by workers in Australia today nor is increasing productivity the solution. Rapid inflation after the pandemic, combined with rising interest rates and slow wage…
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The rental crisis is locking out a generation
The recently released Believe Housing Australia Rental Affordability Snapshot 2025 paints a bleak picture in which further tightening of the supply-demand balance is locking renters out of the market at alarming rates. Rental affordability for single people working full time on a minimum wage sits at a dire one per cent and drops to zero…
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Power bill shock: households face energy cost increases
Power bill increases of upwards of nine per cent have been locked in for some Australian households as energy regulators make a final call on safety net prices. Caps on what retailers can charge households and businesses in South Australia, New South Wales, southeast Queensland and Victoria are designed to protect the hundreds of thousands…
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Prices down as Coles keeps tabs on Trump tariffs
Prices on major products are beginning to fall at Coles as the supermarket giant keeps a close eye on any impacts of Donald Trump’s tariffs on products. Australia’s second-largest supermarket chain on Wednesday unveiled a 3.7 per cent increase in sales over the three months to March. Inflation at the supermarket, excluding tobacco, remained stable…
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Goodbye latte? Price crisis reshapes our spending
Remember when grabbing a coffee was just … grabbing a coffee? When a parmi at the local was a budget meal? When Friday night takeaway was a reward for getting through the week? It didn’t require a financial spreadsheet. For many families navigating the cost-of-living crisis these small indulgences now have to be accounted for.…
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Arts festival back in the black, despite cost of living
The Adelaide Festival should post a surplus in 2025 despite a reduced budget, a last-minute leadership change, and a cost of living crisis. “I am happy as Larry, the staff had a never-say-die attitude from day one, they just worked their butts off,” said artistic director Brett Sheehy. Barring unexpected troubles, Sheehy predicts the annual…
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Australian charities hit by surge of demand
The survey of more than 500 Australian charities and disadvantaged schools revealed 84 per cent expect the cost-of-living crisis to supercharge demand for these items in the coming year, with personal hygiene products, clothing and educational supplies topping the list. Eastern Hills Community Pantry handed out $900,000 worth of items in 2023 with half being…
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How Greens are holding the Reserve Bank to ransom in ‘crazy ultimatum’
The Greens are blocking Reserve Bank reforms until it lowers interest rates, calling for the treasurer to use an extreme stick at his disposal and force a rate cut – something the federal government has explicitly ruled out. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said this was a populist policy that would damage Australia’s economy in the…
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It’s the cost of living, stupid! Labor falling further behind in polls, and here’s why
The Australian Financial Review/Freshwater Strategy poll published on Monday shows the coalition is ahead on 52 per cent against 48 per cent for Labor on a two-party preferred basis. However, the online poll of 1057 voters taken between Friday and Saturday also shows Anthony Albanese is the preferred prime minister on 45 per cent, against…