The federal election campaigns are underway, and according to the Australian Electoral Commission, 17,939,818 Australians will be voting on May 3, many of whom have the cost of living high on their political agendas.
Reports have indicated that concerns for the cost of living is significantly dominating every other issue this election, with 57 percent of sampled Australians claiming it is one of their top three most important matters.
Source: https://www.roymorgan.com/findin
The two major parties have announced their plans to combat the issue of rising costs, where Labor has introduced extra tax cuts and the Coalition plans to halve the fuel excise for 12 months.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government has provided financial relief across the nation throughout his term, and that Labor is the best option for those who are struggling financially.
“Under Labor, inflation is down, incomes are growing, unemployment is very low, interest rates are coming down and growth has rebounded solidly as well – but we know Australians are still doing it tough,” Mr Albanese said in a press release last week.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has shown that for Australian households, inflation has surged since the end of 2021, with housing and food pricing continuously rising. However, there has been a steady decline in overall living costs since December 2022 due to rates of fuel and electricity prices dropping.
Despite this, the data shows ongoing cost pressures for households.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Among those who are particularly feeling the pressure are students, who juggle full time study loads and part time jobs that are failing to cover the rising costs of everyday expenses.
Second Year nursing student at the University of Wollongong, Amy Horne spoke on the weight of financial burden that makes her academic life more of a juggling act.
Miss Horne said that the cost of living was her main concern coming into the election because she is struggling to afford being a student, especially since her degree requires her to work 840 unpaid hours.
“Wages aren’t going up but the cost of everything else is. It’s so nice to be independent but it’s so expensive. Between groceries, rent and owning my own car, it feels like it’s a privilege to have those things, not a necessity,” Miss Horne said.
“My last placement I was doing 8 hours a day during the week and then coming home on weekends to work because rent doesn’t stop, bills don’t stop. So, I haven’t had a single day off in over a month.
“They say they need nurses; they try and push people into this degree and then they don’t make it easy at all… I definitely will be looking at whichever party that wants to help ease the financial pressure of it all.”
This year’s federal election will be the first time baby boomers are outnumbered at the polls in every state and territory by Gen Z and Millennials.