Today’s monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is a reminder of the extraordinary financial pain that hardworking Australian families are experiencing because of the Albanese Labor Government’s bad policies.

Core inflation – the RBA’s preferred measure, the trimmed mean – rose to 3.9%, which is still well above the RBA’s target band.

Since Labor came to power the price of everyday essentials for Australian families have all gone up:

• Bread by 16.4%
• Dairy (milk) by 17.6%
• Rent by 12.1%
• Electricity by 16.5%
• Gas by 26.4%
• Education by 10.9%
• Insurance and financial services by 14.1%

These numbers are stark but they won’t come as a surprise for hardworking Australians who are at the coal face of Labor’s cost of living crisis.

Over the last two years of the Albanese Labor Government, Australians’ living standards have collapsed, and this government has no plan to restore it.

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said Australians face highly uncertain economic times and the future looks grim under Labor.

“The Albanese Labor Government is patting themselves on the back, pointing to the headline figure of 3.4%. But core inflation has risen to 3.9%.

“This government keeps telling Australians they’ve never had it better. Well that just shows how out of touch Labor is.

“Speak to any ordinary Australian on the street and they will tell you that cost of living pressures have gotten worse since the 2022 election.

“The damage has been done to household budgets. Under this government, we’ve seen prices for the basic necessities like food, insurance and power, soar.

“The economy has shuddered to a halt. And instead of the government getting its priorities right, hardworking Australians have been left to do the heavy lifting.

“People are being stretched to the absolute limit because Labor keeps taking from family budgets to bolster its own.”