Australians are facing a cost-of-living crisis. People are being smashed on all fronts: rising rents and mortgage repayments, rising food prices, rising education costs, rising health costs. Neither the Labor Party nor the Liberals and Nationals are interested in turning the tide around. In fact, they're actively committed to making it worse by refusing to invest in vital services, by refusing to lift income support payments and by backing in $243 billion of tax cuts for the super wealthy.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Nick McKim, has responded to the release of today’s inflation figures.

“The government should introduce a corporate super profits tax to help ease cost of living pressures, including by fixing up the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT).

“And they should use the additional revenue to provide cost of living support, such as by putting dental into Medicare and making childcare free.”

“COVID disruption and energy price hikes are driving inflation globally.

“But inflation is also being driven by corporate profiteering.

The Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says the ‘coalkeeper’ subsidy to ageing coal power plants will slow the overdue modernisation of the Australian energy network.

The Labor Resources Minister has called for coal-fired power stations to be brought online as Energy Ministers meet to discuss the dramatic increase in energy prices caused by Australia’s failure to reduce reliance on coal and gas.