Inflation Nation

There was a time when Anthony Albanese promised Australians a better future. A cheaper future. An easier future. With the March inflation figures at 4.6%, up almost a percentage point on February's figures, Albo's claims are now all up in smoke.

Indeed, yesterday's inflation figures are another body blow to households already battered by soaring mortgages, insurance bills, rent hikes, grocery pain, and energy costs. Headline inflation has surged again. Underlying inflation remains stubbornly high. Markets are openly pricing in more interest-rate rises. The banks are already preparing customers for more pain. And what does the Albanese Labor government offer in response? Spin. Excuses. Press releases.

Meanwhile, government spending has remained bloated. Migration has turbocharged housing demand without matching supply. Energy policy has been ideological rather than practical. Productivity has stalled. Business costs have risen. Red tape thrives while growth gasps. Then, ministers look shocked when prices go up. Australians are not fooled.

When fuel prices jump, every truckload costs more. When freight costs more, groceries cost more. When groceries cost more, families cut back. When inflation stays high, rates stay high. When rates stay high, mortgage holders bleed.

The latest reports show food prices still biting, with red meat among the biggest domestic inflation items. That means the family barbecue, the weekly roast, and the basic dinner table are all now collateral damage in Labor’s economic experiment.

Even the sacred suburban dream is under assault. Hundreds of thousands of borrowers are already under pressure. If rates rise again, many families will move from “tight” to “desperate”. That is what happens when governments treat inflation as a media problem rather than an economic emergency.

Labor’s defenders always reach for international excuses. Supply chains. Wars. Oil shocks. Global uncertainty. Yes, external pressures matter. But competent governments build resilience. They reduce wasteful spending. They unleash supply. They encourage domestic energy abundance. They cut taxes where possible. They stop making inflation worse.

Instead, this government governed as if money were free, and consequences were optional. Now the bill has arrived. And like every bad bill, it lands on the kitchen table of ordinary Australians first.

The tragedy is that inflation is more than an economic statistic. It is a moral failure. It punishes thrift, destroys savings, delays family plans, crushes retirees on fixed incomes, and rewards those closest to government largesse. It transfers wealth from the prudent to the protected. That is why voters despise it.

Mr Albanese can tour factories, pose for cameras, and repeat slogans about helping families. But families do not live on slogans. They live on wages already stretched thin by prices climbing faster than confidence.

The government wanted to be judged on the cost of living. Be careful what you ask for. Because Australians are now judging. And they know exactly who is in charge.

“Labor has real, lasting plans for cheaper electricity, cheaper childcare, cheaper mortgages, cheaper medicines and Medicare (and) better pay.”
– Anthony Albanese, 2022 Labor campaign launch