Cost of Living Crisis: Aussies Told to ‘Get Used to’ Soaring Supermarket Costs as Milk Prices Never Return to Pre-Covid Levels
- Top economist Sarah Hunter warns Aussies to accept higher cost of living, including skyrocketing milk prices that will never return to pre-pandemic levels.
- Household spending faces a bleak outlook, with the Reserve Bank admitting it’s not trying to bring prices back down.
- The price of staples like bread, petrol, and milk will remain high, with Aussies urged to ‘get used to’ the new reality.
- Despite the gloomy forecast, Ms Hunter notes that household conditions are starting to improve, with wages growing faster than prices.
Australia’s cost of living crisis has just gotten worse, with a top economist warning Aussies to ‘get used to’ soaring supermarket costs that will never return to pre-pandemic levels. Speaking at the Australian Finance Industry Association Conference in Sydney, Sarah Hunter, assistant governor in economics at the Reserve Bank of Australia, admitted that the price of milk will never go back down.
‘The cost-of-living is now higher and we are not trying to bring the price level down,’ Ms Hunter said, acknowledging that the price of milk had surged at her local supermarket. ‘The price of milk will not go back to where it was pre-Covid, same thing for bread, other staples, petrol and so on.’
Ms Hunter’s warning comes as Aussies continue to struggle with the rising cost of living, with many households feeling the pinch. Despite the gloomy forecast, Ms Hunter noted that household conditions are starting to improve, with wages growing faster than prices. ‘We are now in a position where wages are growing faster than prices… so the average worker is taking more home in real terms than they were a year ago,’ she said.
However, the Reserve Bank’s admission that it’s not trying to bring prices back down will come as a blow to many Aussies who are already struggling to make ends meet. ‘We all have to get used to that and we know it’s tough and it stings when you do your weekly shop,’ Ms Hunter said.
As the cost of living crisis continues to bite, Aussies are being urged to accept the new reality and find ways to cope with the higher prices. But for many, the warning will come as a stark reminder of the tough times ahead.