As Anthony Albanese danced at a ceremony in the Cook Islands, and his popularity plummeted, a tweet he sent days before he was elected to govern the country came back to haunt him and exposed his political failure.
The Prime Minister said: ‘Australians are suffering a triple whammy: soaring commodity costs, falling real wages and now rising interest rates.
“They need a government with a plan to alleviate the cost of living.”
More than 18 months later, that “triple whammy” is only getting worse: Inflation for the year through September remained worryingly high at 5.4 percent; Australian borrowers were hit this week by another interest rate rise – the 13th in 18 months; and income continues to decline in real terms.
And support for Labor and Albanese has fallen sharply in the first Newspoll conducted since the defeat of the Voice to Parliament referendum.
A tweet made by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese days before being elected to govern the country has backfired.
As his popularity plummeted in Australia, Anthony Albanese (in green shirt and garland) was posted to the Cook Islands.
Albanese wore dark sunglasses along with his bright green shirt and garland (pictured)
Labor has fallen behind the Coalition in its primary vote, 35 per cent to 37 per cent, while on a two-party preference basis, Labor leads 52 per cent to 48 per cent, its weakest result since the government won in May 2022.
With many households struggling to pay their bills, as the cost of utilities, food and petrol soar along with mortgage payments, the Prime Minister was showing off his dance moves on his visit to the People’s Forum. Pacific Islands.
On the island of Aitutaki, Albanese wore a bright green shirt and a flower garland around his neck, one of the customs at such events.
But at home, in an ominous sign, the RBA now forecasts inflation will remain above the 2-3 per cent target range until at least the end of 2025, having previously forecast it would return to that range in June 2025. .
The first rate rise 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 at the start of May 2022, when Reserve Bank interest rates were still at a record low of 0.1 per cent and banks were offering mortgage rates starting with a “two.”
And oil prices are rising too.
Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka, President of New Caledonia Louis Mapou, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese and President of Kiribati Taneti Maamau pictured during a welcome ceremony at the Forum Islands of the Pacific in Aitutaki, Cook Islands.
Albanese seemed unconcerned as he mingled with the people of the Cook Islands.
Bright colors were the order of the day when Anthony Albanese (pictured center) was welcomed to the Cook Islands.
Official consumer price index data also showed a 19.7 percent year-on-year increase in fuel prices, leaving motorists paying $2.40 per liter for a premium 95 octane unleaded engine.
Official consumer price index data also showed a 19.7 percent year-on-year increase in fuel prices, leaving motorists paying $2.40 per liter for premium 95 octane unleaded fuel.
This increase predates the latest conflict between Israel and Palestine, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers admits will likely lead to even more severe increases in the price of oil.
“We expect some of these price pressures on the tanker to be potentially exacerbated as well by what we’re seeing in the Middle East right now,” he said late last month.
In another headache for the Labor Party, electricity prices rose 18 per cent year-on-year in September, despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese going into the last election promising to reduce average energy bills by $275 by 2025. .
The Twitter post is now attracting criticism from Australians who have noted the post “hasn’t aged well” given the current crisis.
‘So when will we have a government with such a plan?’ one asked.
Another wrote: “It’s looking more and more like that’s not your mob.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley shared the post again this week, following the rate hike announcement.
She said, ‘Well, this hasn’t aged well, Albo, has it? Australians are paying the price for Albo’s failures.
“With the Prime Minister absent once again, Australians are suffering at home. Where is Labour’s plan to help with the cost of living?
A government spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that it cannot be denied that “a lot of people are having a hard time.”
But the spokesman said: ‘The Albanian government’s number one priority is tackling inflation and cost of living pressures.
‘The Coalition conveniently forgets that they racked up a trillion dollars of debt with almost nothing to show for it.
“We are doing everything we can to clean up the mess they left behind.”
The government has repeatedly placed the blame squarely on the opposition, arguing that they have spent 18 months in government trying to repair the damage left by the decade of Coalition rule.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has also raised the prices of many natural products from that region, and there does not appear to be any plan to end that war anytime soon.
If Albanese was worried about his declining popularity at home, the smile on his face didn’t give it away.
This pre-Hamas terrorist group invaded Israel on October 7, which treasurer Dr. Jim Chalmers said meant motorists would likely see even more severe increases in the price of gasoline.
The Albanian government has contributed hundreds of millions in funds and military equipment to that war despite internal economic chaos.
Since coming to power in May 2022, the government has “provided relief on electricity bills, made medicine cheaper, made it cheaper and easier to see a doctor, expanded parental leave, built more social and affordable housing and rental assistance has increased,” a spokesperson said. .
Labor has also argued that cost-of-living rebates have provided relief, although that costs taxpayers, and rebates only allow telecoms and utility companies to charge more.
Dr Chalmers argued that without electricity rebates of up to $500 in the May budget, the bills would have been even more brutal than they already are.
