Federal Election 2022: Australia’s cost of living crisis online debate

An expert forum thrashing out costs of living pressures has heard some of the best solutions for everyday Australians dealing with rising rent, fuel and electricity costs. WATCH THE REPLAY

Whoever wins the next election will be faced with tackling cost of living pressures currently impacting the country.

While some have asked how much impact our leaders can really have, a panel of experts brought together by News Corp say government has a crucial role to play.

In an online discussion moderated by News Corp columnist Joe Hidebrand, Impact Economics lead economist Angela Jackson said economic reform would be vital for Australians to maintain their quality of life.

“The way out of this is productivity improvements and that involves reforms that have to be driven by governments,” Ms Jackson said.

Housing is a major financial stress for many Australians and a key issue heading into the election.

ANU’s Centre for Social Research and Methods principal fellow, Associate Professor Ben Phillips said the two main barriers for Australians entering the housing market was saving up for a deposit and keeping up with repayments.

He called Labor’s plan to front 40 per cent of the cost of a home for 10,000 people a “generous” scheme that would make a difference for those “lucky enough” to qualify.

“It’s a bit of a drop in the ocean compared to the number of people that would like to get into the market,” Assoc Prof Phillips said.

Cost of living was on the agenda at our roundtable debate hosted by Joe Hildebrand.

Author of Kill Bills and One Big Switch spokesman Joel Gibson said energy prices were also likely to rise steeply around July this year on the back of coal price hikes.

Queensland and NSW which rely the most on black coal-fired power would likely see the biggest increases, he said.

“What it really brings into stark relief is we have this really inequitable situation in Australia where state governments basically bank rolled thousands of homeowners to put solar panels on their roofs and some of those people have barely had a power bill in the decade or so since,” Mr Gibson said.

“And yet renters and apartment-dwellers are basically locked out of that what is essentially free power for some homeowners.”

Mr Gibson said unlocking solar power for those groups was going to be a major issue for governments moving forward.

For those doing it the toughest with cost of living, Mr Phillips said the government could help take the pressure off by increasing welfare payments.

“Rent assistance is $70 a week which is fairly frugal when you consider the median rent is around $500 a week,” Mr Phillips said.

NewsCorp senior reporter and consumer affairs expert John Rolfe, who was also on the panel, said while cost of living was impacting the cost of a grocery shop, fuel prices were probably impacting households the most.

It is particularly noticeable, he said, coming out the back of pandemic when most people were working from home.

“This was an expense that wasn’t really there six months ago and now it’s back and worse than ever,” he said.

Petrol prices are expected to rise further throughout the year as global oil prices continue to fluctuate.

Rolfe stressed that motorists can achieve lower prices by filling up at the bottom of the price cycle or shopping around.

Watch the replay in the video player above.