Australians are urging Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take action to alleviate the mounting cost of living, as households brace for a financial strain estimated at $2,000 starting today.
Several financial pressures are converging, including the Albanese administration’s decision to increase private health insurance premiums, the conclusion of an energy bill rebate, and the repercussions of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s recent interest rate hike, all of which are set to take effect on April 1.
This trio of financial burdens is anticipated to add over $2,000 annually in additional expenses for the average household, according to data from insurance broker Compare Club.
Young families and small business owners appear to be among the hardest hit by this financial squeeze, which exacerbates already stretched budgets due to soaring fuel prices.
Sam, a business owner who operates the West End Bakes café on The Corso in Manly, Sydney’s Northern Beaches, expressed concerns that the combination of escalating petrol costs and rising energy rates might force him to shut down if the situation doesn’t improve soon.
He noted that his suppliers have increased delivery charges by approximately $10 per order, but he is reluctant to transfer this additional cost onto his customers.
‘Everyday I get a new email from suppliers saying they are putting a fuel levy on. It’s just extra money that we have to cop every week and it reduces profit,’ Sam told the Daily Mail.
‘I’ve had to reduce my expenses because I can’t keep up. I’ve cancelled my private insurance and am re-thinking the car insurance. We used to make profit, now we’re running on hardly anything.’
Sam, who owns the West End Bakes cafe on The Corso in Manly, said rising costs mean that he could be forced to close up shop if the crisis doesn’t ease soon
The Albanese government’s increase of health insurance premiums, the end of its energy bill rebate and the impact of the RBA’s interest rate rise will all hit on April 1
He called on the Albanese government to ‘have mercy’ on small business owners during this period of crisis.
‘Back off a little bit, let us do business the way we used to do it 30 years ago, stop being so (controlling) about small little things and just let us do business,’ he added.
He said the rising costs might not seem much on their own, but when they are added up week after week the cumulative effect is overwhelming.
‘From a business sense, coffee prices have gone up in the last three years by 40 per cent, milk has gone up from $2 to $3.15 and bacon has gone up from $46 to $59 – everything’s going up. You can see a lot of businesses closing.’
Peta, who owns a small gardening business with her husband on the Northern Beaches, said the rising cost of living pressures is impacting her business, her household budget, and even the cost of her children’s school trips.
‘Costs have doubled for us in the last month and we only do short trips in the car. I shop at independent fuel suppliers and I used to be able to get it just under $100 a tank, and yesterday it cost me $140 and that was a cheap one!’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘My kids came home waving a note, ‘Mum, we’re going to camp!’ and it was $535 to go to Canberra and back for a one-night sleepover. We were like, ‘How much is this bus?!’
‘I don’t quite understand it because a month ago, there was no fuel crisis. Apparently we had at least a month worth of fuel in the country, so for those 30 days, that fuel should have stayed the same price, but it hasn’t.’
Peta said more should be done at home to help those who provide critical services to Aussies
The heavy vehicle road user charge will be cut to zero for the next three months
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday announced a range of measures as the Middle East conflict continues to increase prices at the bowser.
Australia’s fuel excise will be slashed by 26.3 cents per litre for three months, the heavy vehicle road user charge will be cut for three months, and the government will also defer the next scheduled increase in the road user charge by six months.
The federal government has also urged states and territories to consider matching the move through reduced heavy vehicle registration fees.
Peta said she was happy to see the Albanese government’s announcement of cuts to the fuel excise and the heavy vehicle road user charge, but said more should be done at home to help those who provide critical services to Aussies.
‘If we don’t have trucks, we get nothing, no fuel, no food, nothing. Instead of giving them (essential workers) a hard time and charging them a fortune to drive on government toll roads and all this other bulls*** excuses they come up with, they need to be looked after,’ she said.
‘I think it’s a bit sad that we’re so heavily influenced from other countries and it would be nice to see some more autonomy, a little more narcissism from our own government to just look after us and put us first.
‘They say they are, but I think we try and be too kind to everyone else when we should just be putting our foot down and saying, ‘No!”
As a business owner and mother to four, Peta said she worries about her household budget, having heard that just like in Covid, prices won’t return to pre-crisis levels.
Sam, who delivers fruits and vegetables to businesses across Sydney, said he’s had to pass on a fuel surcharge to his clients
‘It’s not sustainable. You got to the supermarket and you come out with two bags and it’s cost you $140. You’re like for what?!’ she said.
‘Who wants to pay $12 for an easter egg?! A lot of it doesn’t make sense. I was in Officeworks yesterday and $20 for a pack of pens?! It’s everywhere.
‘We just did the invoicing for our business over the weekend and thought about adding on a fuel surcharge, even just $5 to help, but it didn’t feel right. We’re going to see what our pockets look like at the end of next month, and then we may have to.’
Another lady, who is visiting Sydney from Perth with her husband and two children, told the Daily Mail that she has asked her family to purchase supplies and fill up their cars back home amid fears supermarket shelves could soon empty.
Sue, a retiree from the Northern Beaches, said she’s feeling the pinch, particularly at the supermarkets and has been ‘hanging on’ to the half a tank of fuel she has in her car for as long as possible.
She said costs are going up for ‘pretty much everything.’
‘Coffee is just horrendous, it’s ridiculous, you just wonder what it’s worth because every place charges different,’ she said.
‘I’m just fortunate that I don’t need what young people need, or what workers need.’
Fuel excise will be cut from 44.2 cents per litre to 22.1 cents for a period of three months
Sam, from QB Smoothies – a supplier of fruits and vegetables to businesses across Sydney – said he’s had to pass on a surcharge to his clients after experiencing more than a doubling of his daily costs.
‘Before the crisis, we used to fill up for $50 a day, now that’s jumped up to $150 a day,’ he said.
‘We’ve had to pass that on and if businesses struggle, then we also struggle. And then at the end of the day, we’re not sure if we’re going to get the job or not.’
It comes after Compare Club’s Financial Stress Index published in March this year, revealed that more than a third of Aussies (38 per cent) said they were financially worse off than the year before.
About 43 per cent of the 1000 Australians surveyed said they relied on credit at least occasionally to cover everyday household bills.
‘These are people trying to keep up with costs that are rising faster than their wages,’ Compare Club’s head of research, Kate Browne, told the Daily Mail.
