“This highlights the costs-of-living pressures impacting many Australian households,” Dr Chalmers said.
“While today’s results are backward looking, many of the economic challenges remain and have since become more substantial. The cost of living has continued to increase steeply.”
“Labour shortages and ongoing absenteeism continue to constrain businesses and put pressure on supply chains across the domestic economy.
Mr Chalmers said the government was also looking to tackle the increasing energy costs as fuel and gas prices facing households remain elevated while electricity prices are set to increase.
The ABS statistics reveal petrol prices have also increased by about 12% since the end of April and as of last week, wholesale electricity prices have increased 237% since the end of March.
Over the past month, average east coast gas spot prices have increased 319% compared to 2019‑2022 spot prices.
“We are still facing a highly volatile international environment with the ongoing war in Ukraine continuing to disrupt global supply chains, China’s COVID response likely to impact global growth, and global inflationary pressures continuing to evolve,” Mr Chalmers said.
“Collectively, these results will have implications for the Budget which is already riddled with rorts and weighed down with a trillion dollars of debt with not enough to show for it.
“Despite the strong rise in the terms of trade in the quarter, it was less than what was factored in at PEFO, and there are other factors weighing on the Budget including the higher costs of borrowing on record debt.
“We can’t afford to be complacent given the difficult Budget position that we are in.”