Cost of food, fuel and housing is soaring in Brisbane. This graph proves it

“[The end of the subsidy] resulted in higher out-of-pocket electricity costs,” the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.

“Excluding the rebates, [national] electricity prices would have risen by 0.4 per cent.”

However, analysis by the ABS of the period before the energy subsidy was introduced showed daily living expenses were already increasing in Brisbane faster than in other capital cities.

Overall, inflation was 1.9 per cent in Brisbane from January to March this year, significantly more than the second-highest rate of 0.9 per cent across Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

The rate itself will also see higher costs passed on to consumers. Transurban, for example, increases local traffic tolls on July 1 every year by the annual Brisbane CPI rate, not the national inflation rate as it uses elsewhere.

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A report by the Queensland Council of Social Service found Brisbane was leading the country in the cost-of-living crisis in January 2024, with the highest rent, energy, health and insurance price hikes.

The latest data from the ABS shows Brisbane has retained that unenviable title.

Karyn Walsh, chief executive of West End-based social welfare agency Micah Projects, said there was no doubt Brisbane families on lower incomes were struggling.

“They’re trying to pay rent and buy necessary medication and they’re struggling to afford fresh food and meat. They’re often eating a lot of processed food because it’s cheaper,” she said.

“They’re struggling to make the meals go around for seven days. Parents are giving their children lunch for school, but then there’s little left over for other meals.

“It’s not just a budgeting issue, it’s a cost issue. We’re living in a time when people’s income is just not matching their expenses.”

Treasurer David Janetzki said the LNP government was committed to “long-term cost of living relief”, but he would not be drawn on whether he would deliver another electricity subsidy to Queenslanders, with the June budget still in the works.

He said the government was committed to continuing 50-cent public transport fares, introduced by the previous Labor state government, and had abolished stamp duty for eligible first-home buyers.

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In parliament on Thursday, Janetzki was asked why he had allowed the value of a penalty unit, used to calculate various state fees and charges, to increase by 3.4 per cent, instead of intervening to order a smaller increase.

Janetzki responded by saying Labor had done the same in office, when the then Miles government also announced pre-election cost-of-living measures without the funding to continue them long-term.

“They believed in the energy rebate so much that they put zero dollars in the budget for it,” he told parliament.

Queensland’s mid-year economic update, which Janetzki delivered in January, said the state’s economy and labour market continued to face several risks, including the potential for household consumption to be weaker than expected if interest rates remained higher for longer.

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