Brisbane’s outer suburbs have worst cost of living in all eastern capital cities

The outer suburbs of Greater Brisbane have seen the highest annual cost-of-living rise of all eastern capital cities. WHERE THEY’RE HURTING

Greater Brisbane’s outer suburbs have seen the highest annual cost-of-living rise of all eastern capital cities, including three suburbs in the federal Treasurer’s electorate, according to the latest CPI data.

New figures have found Brisbane’s biggest cost-of-living increases from 2021 to 2022 have hit the outskirts of the city, including in three suburbs in Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ electorate of ­Rankin.

Browns Plains, Springwood and Kingston all had an annual CPI rise of 5.4 per cent, up from the 10-year average increase of 2.3 per cent, according to the new location-based inflation analysis by the Australian National University.

The worst CPI rise in the region was in Ipswich Hinterland, which reached 5.5 per cent, beating the highest annual rises in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra.

Meanwhile, inner-city suburbs saw the lowest annual increases, with Brisbane Inner-East, Brisbane Inner-North and Holland Park-Yeronga all with 4.8 per cent change, while Brisbane Inner and Brisbane Inner-West had a 4.9 per cent increase in living costs.

The leading factor behind the disproportionate increase in outer suburbs’ annual CPI rates is mainly due to rising fuel prices, ­according to ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods principal research fellow Ben Phillips, who was behind the analysis.

“Petrol would be the main driver of what we are seeing,” Mr Phillips said.

“It’s a larger share of their basket of goods and services.”

Brisbane’s average price of ULP at the bowser reached a record high of 205.9c a litre in June this year, which was up significantly from this time three years ago, when it was an average of 141.9c a litre in June 2019, according to RACQ’s monthly fuel reports.

More rises are expected in September when the fuel excise cut expires, which will see an extra 24c a litre added to the ­already exorbitant prices.

When approached for ­comment, Mr Chalmers would not answer questions.

His office pointed to previous comments in which he suggested an excise cut extension could not be afforded due to rising debt servicing costs.

Queensland financial adviser and director at Stonehouse Group, Ben Hancock, agreed, saying that outer suburbs fall victim to growing fuel costs for a number of reasons.

“The fact that generally the outer suburbs tend to have larger families means transportation costs and longer commutes could be the predominant single factor for the higher CPI,” he said.

Mr Hancock said those who worked far from where they lived could be saving hundreds a week by asking to work from home certain days throughout the week to cut down on the commute.

But the worst of rising CPI rates could be yet to come, ­according to Mr Hancock, who said financial pressures will continue for first-home buyers, who are generally those in outer suburbs.

“Much of that data (rate rises) really hasn’t fed through to annual figures because interest rates didn’t really start going up until this current calendar year, so there’s going to be some further uplift in inflationary pressure adding to the cost-of-living pressure,” Mr Hancock said.

But while mortgage stress may rise, Queenslanders could see relief in other areas, as certain pandemic-related pressures start to ease.

“I think the Covid-related supply chain issues do seem to be abating, but the geopolitical tensions less so,” Mr Hancock said.

“I think the cost of energy will remain high, and I wouldn’t be expecting there to be any relief from that in the foreseeable future.

“With food pressures, I would be expecting that to start to reduce from this quarter or next.”

Mr Hancock said it was possible Queenslanders had become accustomed to the ultra-low-inflation environment the nation had been in for the better part of the decade, which was why the sudden rises had been shocking.

“We’ve got exceptionally low unemployment, that in ­itself would ordinarily be a catalyst for much higher wage growth than we’ve seen,” Mr Hancock said.

“So long as that continues we will start to see wages increase, and businesses will be forced to, even at the cost of their profitability to a certain extent,” he said.

Single father Jimmy Crocker, 42 with his boys Lachlan, 9, Ryan, 17, and Cayleb, 19, at home in Leichhardt, Ipswich. Picture: Liam Kidston

SINGLE DAD’S LIFE ON THE FRINGE

Single father of three boys Jimmy Crocker is worried about keeping a roof over his family’s head and could be forced to work three jobs to stay afloat, as CPI figures in Ipswich have risen more than 5 per cent throughout the year.

Brisbane’s fringe has been hit the hardest with cost-of-living rises.

Mr Crocker said living out of the city had started to take its toll.

“It’s getting quite expensive to live further from Brisbane,” he said.

“I’ve recently applied for DoorDash and labour hire companies to work extra days on my days off and during school hours … An extra $200 a week would go a long way.”

While he lives in Ipswich with his sons, Mr Crocker works as a chef in Brisbane and said the fuel had put a financial strain on him and his family.

“I find each week it’s a struggle to pay for food, fuel and even some sort of general expenses for myself and my kids,” he said.

The working father said it was disappointing to see politicians get pay rises while single parents such as himself worked from pay to pay.

“It’s frustrating seeing our local, state and federal governments saying how much we all struggle, yet don’t seem to want to really do anything about it,” Mr Crocker said.

“The pension rates are ridiculous. The tax rates are unbelievable.

“I do feel if you do a stressful job you deserve the pay.”