As Anthony Albanese danced in a ceremony in the Cook Islands – and his popularity fell sharply – a tweet he sent days before he was elected to run the country has come back to haunt him and exposed his policy failure.
Prime Minister said: ‘Australians are being hit with a triple whammy of skyrocketing costs of essentials, falling real wages and now an interest rate hike.
‘They need a government with a plan to ease the cost of living.’
More than 18 months on, that ‘triple whammy’ is only getting worse: inflation for the year to September remained worryingly high at 5.4 per cent; Australian borrowers were this week hit with yet another interest rate rise – the 13th in 18 months; and incomes continue to decline in real terms.
And support for Labor and Mr Albanese have both fallen sharply in the first Newspoll conducted since the Voice to Parliament referendum defeat.
A tweet made by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese days before he was elected to rule the country has come back to haunt him
As his popularity plummeted in Australia, Anthony Albanese (in green shirt and garland) was fated in the Cook Islands
Mr Albanese wore dark sunglasses along with his bright green shirt and garland (pictured)
Labor has fallen behind the Coalition on it primary vote, 35 per cent to 37 per cent, while on a two-party preferred basis, Labor leads 52 per cent to 48 per cent – its weakest result since it won government in May 2022.
While many households are struggling to pay their bills, as the cost of utilities, groceries and petrol soars along with mortgage repayments, the Prime Minister was showing off his dance moves on his visit to the Pacific Islands Forum.
On the island of Aitutaki, Mr Albanese wore a bright green shirt and a flower garland around his neck – one of the customs at such events.
But back at home, in an ominous sign, the RBA is now forecasting inflation to stay above the 2-3 per cent target range until at least late 2025, having earlier predicted it would get back into that range in June 2025.
The first rate increase since June will add $99 to an average, $600,000 mortgage after persistently high inflation saw the Reserve Bank inflict more pain on Melbourne Cup Day.
Annual repayments on a typical Australian mortgage are now $18,744 higher than they were in early May 2022 when Reserve Bank interest rates were still at a record-low of 0.1 per cent and the banks offered mortgage rates starting with a ‘two’.
And petrol prices are soaring, too.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, New Caledonia’s President Louis Mapou, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau are pictured during a welcome ceremony at the Pacific Island Forum in Aitutaki, Cook Islands
Mr Albanese looked care-free as he mingled with people on the Cook Islands
Bright colours were the order of the day as Anthony Albanese (pictured centre) was welcomed to the Cook Islands
The official consumer price index data also showed a 19.7 per cent annual increase in fuel prices, which has seen m otorists pay $2.40 a litre for 95 octane premium unleaded
The official consumer price index data also showed a 19.7 per cent annual increase in fuel prices, which has seen motorists pay $2.40 a litre for 95 octane premium unleaded.
This rise pre-dated the latest Israel-Palestine conflict, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers admits will likely cause even more severe petrol price hikes.
‘We expect some of these price pressures at the bowser to be potentially exacerbated by what we’re seeing in the Middle East right now as well,’ he said late last month.
In another headache for Labor, electricity prices surged by 18 per cent annually in September, even though Prime Minister Anthony Albanese went to the last election promising to reduce average power bills by $275 by 2025.
The Twitter post is now attracting criticism from Australians who have noted the post ‘didn’t age well’ given the current crises.
‘So, when do we get a government with said plan?’ one asked.
Another wrote: ‘It’s increasingly looking like that’s not your mob.’
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley shared the post again this week, after the rate rise announcement.
She said: ‘Well this didn’t age well Albo, did it? Australians are paying the price for Albo’s failures.
‘With the PM away yet again Australians are hurting at home. Where is Labor’s plan to help with cost of living?’
A government spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia there is no denying ‘a lot of people are doing it tough’.
But, the spokesperson said: ‘The Albanese Government’s number one priority is addressing inflation and cost of living pressures.
‘The Coalition conveniently forget that they racked up a trillion dollars of debt with nearly nothing to show for it.
‘We’re doing our best to clean up the mess they left behind.’
The government has repeatedly laid blame squarely at the feet of the Opposition, arguing they’ve spent 18 months in government trying to repair damage left by the Coalition’s decade in charge.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has also driven up prices of many natural commodities sourced from that region, and there seems to be no plan to end that war any time soon.
If Mr Albanese was worried about his popularity falling at home, the smile on his face didn’t give it away
This predated terrorist group Hamas invading Israel on October 7, which Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers said meant motorists would likely see even more severe petrol price rises
The Albanese government has contributed hundreds of millions in funds and military equipment to that war despite the economic chaos at home.
Since coming to power in May 2022, the government has ‘provided electricity bill relief, made medicines cheaper, made it cheaper and easier to see a doctor, expanded parental leave, built more social and affordable housing and increased rental assistance,’ a spokesperson said.
Labor has also argued that cost-of-living rebates have provided relief, although that costs taxpayers, and rebates only enable telco and utility companies to charge more.
Dr Chalmers argued that without electricity rebates of up to $500 in the May Budget, bills would have been even more brutal than they are already.