26-06-2023: No one needs to be told that the cost of living throughout Australia is out of control. Relative to purchasing power, it has probably never been higher. Working people are being slugged with price hikes from all sides, and there appears to be no end in sight. Constantly high inflation is eating away at the purchasing power of wages and salaries. Official inflation levels hover around 7%,[1] but this is likely an understatement. Inflation is running at its highest rate for the last 20 years, and vast numbers of people are struggling to make ends meet. While official unemployment numbers are low, many are finding that jobs that previously provided enough remuneration to pay the bills no longer do so. This spurs some to seek second and third jobs to keep their heads above water.

Basic costs creep higher

A full-scale recession could be on the cards, with the Reserve Bank hitting the public with 12 consecutive interest rate rises over the previous 14 months.[2] This ramps up mortgage repayments for homeowners already dealing with other costs. The Reserve Bank’s rationale is that this will “fight inflation”, but it may be more likely to contribute to driving the economy into recession. This is in the middle of a housing crisis which may also be the worst ever. Some people with full-time permanent employment are getting knocked back when applying for a house or unit to rent. Throughout the country, the median house rent is $550 per week, while the median unit is $495 per week.[3] This makes renting nigh on unaffordable for those on lower incomes, let alone those on income support. As of February this year, more than 640 000 Australian households are under housing stress or homeless.[4] State and Federal governments make token announcements to build more “social” housing, which is barely a fraction of what is needed to start making inroads into the problem.

Something the mainstream media will never report on is the opportunistic corporate price gouging that has occurred since the global economy contracted briefly in the first quarter of 2020.[5] Food prices in the big two grocery retailers Coles and Woolworths have risen by 9.6% in the past year.[6] In the first quarter of 2023, food prices increased by 8% compared with the same period in the previous year.[7] Adding up these rises, the price of many weekly grocery shopping trips have increased by 50%. It is becoming difficult to obtain inexpensive healthy food, especially fresh fruit and vegetables. It is no longer only struggling students who are resorting to eating instant two-minute noodles. The Foodbank Victoria charity state that it has sustained a 27% increase in distribution this year, with food inflation running higher than inflation itself a major causative factor.[8] On July 1^st, electricity and gas bills will rise by a staggering 20 to 25%,[9] when they were already exorbitant to begin with. This means the Federal Government’s budgetary “$500 energy rebate” will have little impact over its annual spread.

Lockdowns, war, recession

Corporate media explanations for the cost-of-living crisis point the finger at the supposed “Covid pandemic” and Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine. One doesn’t require much economic knowledge to join the dots between them. “Covid” – a mild cold or flu at most – did not cause the economic shutdown of entire sections of Western economies. This was the result of nonsensical lockdowns, which subsequently threw hundreds of thousands out of work via the closure of “non-essential” industries, restaurants, theatres, gyms and more. Unjustifiable state and federal border closures were implemented, restricting or blocking domestic and international travel, and movement generally.  This was followed by insane vaccine mandates, which forced upon workers the bitter “choice” of taking a dangerous and potentially deadly set of injections or losing the means of your livelihood. As with every attack on the working class, the ultra-rich increased their obscene wealth during the nearly three-year pseudo-pandemic while escaping intense political repression. Not one wealthy businessperson was targeted for breaching house arrest, and no employer was subjected to a vaccine mandate.

Russia’s defensive military actions against decades long NATO provocations did not cause the recession. At least for Europe and the US, this was one result of sanctions imposed on Russia, which boomeranged back against those governments which imposed them. The Australian government has imposed sanctions on Russian officials, but given that trade with Russia is negligible, this has had little adverse economic impact. Obviously, the same cannot be said for China – which is Australia’s largest trading partner for both the export and import of goods. If the Australian government joined a US led war against China and, in response, China quite legitimately cut off all trade – Australia’s economy would plummet into a recession the likes of which can scarcely be imagined. Parts of the Australian ruling class have no qualms about a disastrous war on China, while other elements wish to escalate provocations while simultaneously continuing to profit from business with the Asian superpower.

Some Union officials are busy ramming through collective workplace agreements with pay “rises” well below inflation, which are pay cuts in real terms. This continues their role in enforcing the will of the corporate elite, whether in the form of a faux-pandemic or a real recession. The woke left are either silent on, or approve of, the ruling class agenda whether it be medical repression, imperialist war or more economic pain for working people. Capitalism is driving us into an abyss, while the synthetic left remains complicit with the politicians and the system they claim to oppose. ENOUGH! Real Left Australia says this must be reversed. Workers must defend the ground they currently hold, but there must be efforts to vastly expand public ownership, to ensure the well-being of the overwhelming majority. The billionaires’ political system has run aground long ago and must be removed.

For wage increases of 10%!       
Cancel student debt!         
Nationalise Coles and Woolworths!               
For free public transport! 
Nationalise electricity, gas and water!                                  
Abolish road tolls! For a vast program of public housing!            
No wars on Russia and China!
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t.me/RealLeftAustralia

E: RealLeftAustralia@gmail.com

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[1] www.rba.gov.au/chart-pack/aus-inflation.html (21-06-2023)

[2] www.apnews.com/article/reserve-bank-interest-rates-41-ab265a0fcb10e3cceb51938e2971c346 (21-06-2023)

[3] http://www.mozo.com.au/home-loans/articles/what-is-the-average-rent-in-australia (21-06-2023)

[4] www.savvy.com.au/media-releases/rental-crisis-low-income-households-need-117-of-income-to-pay-rent (21-06-2023)

[5] www.epi.org/blog/corporate-profits-have-contributed-disproportionately-to-inflation-how-should-policymakers-respond/ (21-06-2023)

[6] www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-23/supermarket-prices-increase-coles-woolworths-inflation/102380456 (21-06-2023)

[7] www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/food-inflation (21-06-2023)

[8] www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/13/foodbank-reports-27-rise-in-food-distributed-across-victoria-as-cost-of-living-crisis-bites (21-06-2023)

[9] www.energyaustralia.com.au/about-us/media/news/energyaustralia-announces-electricity-and-gas-price-increases (21.06.23)

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