With rising costs of living, more people are finding it hard just to get by. For some, they’re having to resort to drastic measures.

Case in point: a migrant worker had to live in a tent in a short-stay accommodation living room for $300 a week.

Her story was mentioned on the fifth day of the union-backed investigation into the price gouging of companies.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) launched an investigation into the price surge and pricing practices in Australia, aiming to identify the ‘scale of price gouging practices being deployed by large businesses and to understand the effects this is having on everyday Australians’.

Former Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Allan Fels oversees the inquiry.

Price gouging practice in large businesses leads people to struggle to afford essentials. Credit: Unsplash

‘She was forced to rely on short-stay accommodation,’ said Unions NSW Assistant Secretary Thomas Costa.

‘In one of the short-stays, she did not have a bedroom and had to pitch a tent in the living room to have some kind of privacy.’

‘The cost of staying in this tent, in the living room of this house, was $300 a week,’ he added.

According to Costa, around 2.5 million temporary migrant workers in Australia have student and holiday visas, which make up about one in ten workers.

He added that up to 16 per cent of the temporary migrant workforce was illegally paid below the national minimum wage.

According to Costa, the tenancy situation for international students was the ‘worst’ the union had seen.

He also said that more migrant workers reported feeling anxious and stressed about their living arrangements and they were ‘uncertain’ if they could stay in the country.

Some smaller farmers also felt the effects of supermarket price-gouging, as a farming expert criticised the strategy of supermarket giants to pass off normal business practices as ‘Christmas gifts’.

Brendan O'Keeffe, an economist with the NSW Farmers Association, said during the inquiry that the value was not spread across the supply chain and that supermarkets would ‘straight away’ increase the prices when there’s a supply outage.

‘But the opposite doesn’t happen when there’s a large increase in supply,’ O’Keeffe said.

‘They don’t pass that on very quickly or in full.’

O'Keeffe mentioned that lamb prices have decreased for six months, but Woolworths’s announcement said that the lamb prices would be decreased as a ‘Christmas gift’.

‘It really shows their attitude,” he said.

‘When a normal business practice in a competitive market, which should not be in the news…they’re allowed to position it as a Christmas gift to consumers,’ he added.

In the sheep farming industry, there was a 75 per cent decrease in mutton prices, which led farmers to drastically try to get rid of the animals.

Many people reported to the inquiry that they had to make significant cuts in their family budgets to afford food, electricity, rent, and other essential items.

Among the 752 submissions to the inquiry, 33 per cent of them were from NSW.

Judie from Paddington said she had to cut back on grocery shopping so she could pay their electricity bill.

Joy from Eastwood said that she couldn’t bring treats for her kids like ice cream, and she also had to cut back on fruits and vegetables.

One resident from NSW said that he was resorting to eating ‘one meal a day’, while another man from Gosford said that his family had to sacrifice their children’s after-school activities or hobbies by taking extra shifts just to afford groceries.

O’Keeffe mentioned that it was difficult to obtain accurate data to measure household food budgets.

‘There’s been no more data from the government on household spending since 2015-16,’ he said.

‘We’re in a cost-of-living crisis and we don’t have detailed information on household spending.’

When it comes to the dairy industry, O’Keeffe said there has been a deregulation in this industry leading to large growth margins. He also noted that farmers became ‘too exposed’ to market forces in the 2010s, resulting in many exiting the industry.

Milk production has been at the lowest levels since 1991.

‘Prices for dairy in one quarter were up to 15 per cent increases…double what inflation was,’ O’Keeffe said.

‘If you do have too much anti-competitive behaviour, or let supermarkets and processors go hell for leather, you get a situation where consumers benefit for a short while, but in the long term you’re decimating the industry.’

Key Takeaways

• A migrant worker was living in a tent in a living room of short-stay accommodation, paying $300 a week due to price gouging amidst a cost-of-living crisis in Australia.
• The inquiry into price gouging and unfair pricing practices was commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to identify the 'scale of price gouging practices'.
• The inquiry heard that up to 16 per cent of the temporary migrant workforce were illegally paid below the national minimum wage.
• Testimony indicated that value is not spread evenly across the supply chain. Supermarkets would increase their prices during supply shortages but do not pass on decreases in supply costs to the consumer.
  

Members, what do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

 

[ElizaKaye]

The shortage in affordable housing is the government's fault. They have been selling off their social housing for many years and not replacing them. The government need to have a good hard look at their own policies. Why can't they put a cap on rental houses. Most of them are owned by the rich.

 

[CristinaV]

With rising costs of living, more people are finding it hard just to get by. For some, they’re having to resort to drastic measures.

Case in point: a migrant worker had to live in a tent in a short-stay accommodation living room for $300 a week.

Her story was mentioned on the fifth day of the union-backed investigation into the price gouging of companies.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) launched an investigation into the price surge and pricing practices in Australia, aiming to identify the ‘scale of price gouging practices being deployed by large businesses and to understand the effects this is having on everyday Australians’.

Former Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Allan Fels oversees the inquiry.

View attachment 34500

Price gouging practice in large businesses leads people to struggle to afford essentials. Credit: Unsplash

‘She was forced to rely on short-stay accommodation,’ said Unions NSW Assistant Secretary Thomas Costa.

‘In one of the short-stays, she did not have a bedroom and had to pitch a tent in the living room to have some kind of privacy.’

‘The cost of staying in this tent, in the living room of this house, was $300 a week,’ he added.

According to Costa, around 2.5 million temporary migrant workers in Australia have student and holiday visas, which make up about one in ten workers.

He added that up to 16 per cent of the temporary migrant workforce was illegally paid below the national minimum wage.

According to Costa, the tenancy situation for international students was the ‘worst’ the union had seen.

He also said that more migrant workers reported feeling anxious and stressed about their living arrangements and they were ‘uncertain’ if they could stay in the country.

Some smaller farmers also felt the effects of supermarket price-gouging, as a farming expert criticised the strategy of supermarket giants to pass off normal business practices as ‘Christmas gifts’.

Brendan O'Keeffe, an economist with the NSW Farmers Association, said during the inquiry that the value was not spread across the supply chain and that supermarkets would ‘straight away’ increase the prices when there’s a supply outage.

‘But the opposite doesn’t happen when there’s a large increase in supply,’ O’Keeffe said.

‘They don’t pass that on very quickly or in full.’

O'Keeffe mentioned that lamb prices have decreased for six months, but Woolworths’s announcement said that the lamb prices would be decreased as a ‘Christmas gift’.

‘It really shows their attitude,” he said.

‘When a normal business practice in a competitive market, which should not be in the news…they’re allowed to position it as a Christmas gift to consumers,’ he added.

In the sheep farming industry, there was a 75 per cent decrease in mutton prices, which led farmers to drastically try to get rid of the animals.

Many people reported to the inquiry that they had to make significant cuts in their family budgets to afford food, electricity, rent, and other essential items.

Among the 752 submissions to the inquiry, 33 per cent of them were from NSW.

Judie from Paddington said she had to cut back on grocery shopping so she could pay their electricity bill.

Joy from Eastwood said that she couldn’t bring treats for her kids like ice cream, and she also had to cut back on fruits and vegetables.

One resident from NSW said that he was resorting to eating ‘one meal a day’, while another man from Gosford said that his family had to sacrifice their children’s after-school activities or hobbies by taking extra shifts just to afford groceries.

O’Keeffe mentioned that it was difficult to obtain accurate data to measure household food budgets.

‘There’s been no more data from the government on household spending since 2015-16,’ he said.

‘We’re in a cost-of-living crisis and we don’t have detailed information on household spending.’

When it comes to the dairy industry, O’Keeffe said there has been a deregulation in this industry leading to large growth margins. He also noted that farmers became ‘too exposed’ to market forces in the 2010s, resulting in many exiting the industry.

Milk production has been at the lowest levels since 1991.

‘Prices for dairy in one quarter were up to 15 per cent increases…double what inflation was,’ O’Keeffe said.

‘If you do have too much anti-competitive behaviour, or let supermarkets and processors go hell for leather, you get a situation where consumers benefit for a short while, but in the long term you’re decimating the industry.’

Key Takeaways

• A migrant worker was living in a tent in a living room of short-stay accommodation, paying $300 a week due to price gouging amidst a cost-of-living crisis in Australia.
• The inquiry into price gouging and unfair pricing practices was commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to identify the 'scale of price gouging practices'.
• The inquiry heard that up to 16 per cent of the temporary migrant workforce were illegally paid below the national minimum wage.
• Testimony indicated that value is not spread evenly across the supply chain. Supermarkets would increase their prices during supply shortages but do not pass on decreases in supply costs to the consumer.

Members, what do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

When did Australia stop being "the lucky country"?
I suspect when govt started paying attention to the pandemic we had to have. It's been down hill since. Can the disaster be stopped before reaching the bottom? Anyone have an answer?

 

[RTS]

I hope the ACCC looks at the workings of the RBA. Increasing interest rates seems to fuel inflation, not check it.

 

[ElizaKaye]

iT HAS BEEN STATED THAT BRINGING IN MIGRANTS IS PART OF THE PROBLEM OF INFLATION. wHY DO THEY NEED TO BRING IN SO MANY. wHY DON'T THEY GIVE MORE ASSISTANCE TO ON EDUCATING AUSTRALIANS

 

[Time to chat]

With rising costs of living, more people are finding it hard just to get by. For some, they’re having to resort to drastic measures.

Case in point: a migrant worker had to live in a tent in a short-stay accommodation living room for $300 a week.

Her story was mentioned on the fifth day of the union-backed investigation into the price gouging of companies.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) launched an investigation into the price surge and pricing practices in Australia, aiming to identify the ‘scale of price gouging practices being deployed by large businesses and to understand the effects this is having on everyday Australians’.

Former Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Allan Fels oversees the inquiry.

View attachment 34500

Price gouging practice in large businesses leads people to struggle to afford essentials. Credit: Unsplash

‘She was forced to rely on short-stay accommodation,’ said Unions NSW Assistant Secretary Thomas Costa.

‘In one of the short-stays, she did not have a bedroom and had to pitch a tent in the living room to have some kind of privacy.’

‘The cost of staying in this tent, in the living room of this house, was $300 a week,’ he added.

According to Costa, around 2.5 million temporary migrant workers in Australia have student and holiday visas, which make up about one in ten workers.

He added that up to 16 per cent of the temporary migrant workforce was illegally paid below the national minimum wage.

According to Costa, the tenancy situation for international students was the ‘worst’ the union had seen.

He also said that more migrant workers reported feeling anxious and stressed about their living arrangements and they were ‘uncertain’ if they could stay in the country.

Some smaller farmers also felt the effects of supermarket price-gouging, as a farming expert criticised the strategy of supermarket giants to pass off normal business practices as ‘Christmas gifts’.

Brendan O'Keeffe, an economist with the NSW Farmers Association, said during the inquiry that the value was not spread across the supply chain and that supermarkets would ‘straight away’ increase the prices when there’s a supply outage.

‘But the opposite doesn’t happen when there’s a large increase in supply,’ O’Keeffe said.

‘They don’t pass that on very quickly or in full.’

O'Keeffe mentioned that lamb prices have decreased for six months, but Woolworths’s announcement said that the lamb prices would be decreased as a ‘Christmas gift’.

‘It really shows their attitude,” he said.

‘When a normal business practice in a competitive market, which should not be in the news…they’re allowed to position it as a Christmas gift to consumers,’ he added.

In the sheep farming industry, there was a 75 per cent decrease in mutton prices, which led farmers to drastically try to get rid of the animals.

Many people reported to the inquiry that they had to make significant cuts in their family budgets to afford food, electricity, rent, and other essential items.

Among the 752 submissions to the inquiry, 33 per cent of them were from NSW.

Judie from Paddington said she had to cut back on grocery shopping so she could pay their electricity bill.

Joy from Eastwood said that she couldn’t bring treats for her kids like ice cream, and she also had to cut back on fruits and vegetables.

One resident from NSW said that he was resorting to eating ‘one meal a day’, while another man from Gosford said that his family had to sacrifice their children’s after-school activities or hobbies by taking extra shifts just to afford groceries.

O’Keeffe mentioned that it was difficult to obtain accurate data to measure household food budgets.

‘There’s been no more data from the government on household spending since 2015-16,’ he said.

‘We’re in a cost-of-living crisis and we don’t have detailed information on household spending.’

When it comes to the dairy industry, O’Keeffe said there has been a deregulation in this industry leading to large growth margins. He also noted that farmers became ‘too exposed’ to market forces in the 2010s, resulting in many exiting the industry.

Milk production has been at the lowest levels since 1991.

‘Prices for dairy in one quarter were up to 15 per cent increases…double what inflation was,’ O’Keeffe said.

‘If you do have too much anti-competitive behaviour, or let supermarkets and processors go hell for leather, you get a situation where consumers benefit for a short while, but in the long term you’re decimating the industry.’

Key Takeaways

• A migrant worker was living in a tent in a living room of short-stay accommodation, paying $300 a week due to price gouging amidst a cost-of-living crisis in Australia.
• The inquiry into price gouging and unfair pricing practices was commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to identify the 'scale of price gouging practices'.
• The inquiry heard that up to 16 per cent of the temporary migrant workforce were illegally paid below the national minimum wage.
• Testimony indicated that value is not spread evenly across the supply chain. Supermarkets would increase their prices during supply shortages but do not pass on decreases in supply costs to the consumer.

Members, what do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Our government should be looking at this dilemma instead of globe trotting all over the world. We are in a crisis here in Australia . HELP

 

[Veggiepatch]

I don't think the landlord would be too happy with the holes from the tent pegs in the living room floor....

 

[Jennie]

With rising costs of living, more people are finding it hard just to get by. For some, they’re having to resort to drastic measures.

Case in point: a migrant worker had to live in a tent in a short-stay accommodation living room for $300 a week.

Her story was mentioned on the fifth day of the union-backed investigation into the price gouging of companies.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) launched an investigation into the price surge and pricing practices in Australia, aiming to identify the ‘scale of price gouging practices being deployed by large businesses and to understand the effects this is having on everyday Australians’.

Former Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Allan Fels oversees the inquiry.

View attachment 34500

Price gouging practice in large businesses leads people to struggle to afford essentials. Credit: Unsplash

‘She was forced to rely on short-stay accommodation,’ said Unions NSW Assistant Secretary Thomas Costa.

‘In one of the short-stays, she did not have a bedroom and had to pitch a tent in the living room to have some kind of privacy.’

‘The cost of staying in this tent, in the living room of this house, was $300 a week,’ he added.

According to Costa, around 2.5 million temporary migrant workers in Australia have student and holiday visas, which make up about one in ten workers.

He added that up to 16 per cent of the temporary migrant workforce was illegally paid below the national minimum wage.

According to Costa, the tenancy situation for international students was the ‘worst’ the union had seen.

He also said that more migrant workers reported feeling anxious and stressed about their living arrangements and they were ‘uncertain’ if they could stay in the country.

Some smaller farmers also felt the effects of supermarket price-gouging, as a farming expert criticised the strategy of supermarket giants to pass off normal business practices as ‘Christmas gifts’.

Brendan O'Keeffe, an economist with the NSW Farmers Association, said during the inquiry that the value was not spread across the supply chain and that supermarkets would ‘straight away’ increase the prices when there’s a supply outage.

‘But the opposite doesn’t happen when there’s a large increase in supply,’ O’Keeffe said.

‘They don’t pass that on very quickly or in full.’

O'Keeffe mentioned that lamb prices have decreased for six months, but Woolworths’s announcement said that the lamb prices would be decreased as a ‘Christmas gift’.

‘It really shows their attitude,” he said.

‘When a normal business practice in a competitive market, which should not be in the news…they’re allowed to position it as a Christmas gift to consumers,’ he added.

In the sheep farming industry, there was a 75 per cent decrease in mutton prices, which led farmers to drastically try to get rid of the animals.

Many people reported to the inquiry that they had to make significant cuts in their family budgets to afford food, electricity, rent, and other essential items.

Among the 752 submissions to the inquiry, 33 per cent of them were from NSW.

Judie from Paddington said she had to cut back on grocery shopping so she could pay their electricity bill.

Joy from Eastwood said that she couldn’t bring treats for her kids like ice cream, and she also had to cut back on fruits and vegetables.

One resident from NSW said that he was resorting to eating ‘one meal a day’, while another man from Gosford said that his family had to sacrifice their children’s after-school activities or hobbies by taking extra shifts just to afford groceries.

O’Keeffe mentioned that it was difficult to obtain accurate data to measure household food budgets.

‘There’s been no more data from the government on household spending since 2015-16,’ he said.

‘We’re in a cost-of-living crisis and we don’t have detailed information on household spending.’

When it comes to the dairy industry, O’Keeffe said there has been a deregulation in this industry leading to large growth margins. He also noted that farmers became ‘too exposed’ to market forces in the 2010s, resulting in many exiting the industry.

Milk production has been at the lowest levels since 1991.

‘Prices for dairy in one quarter were up to 15 per cent increases…double what inflation was,’ O’Keeffe said.

‘If you do have too much anti-competitive behaviour, or let supermarkets and processors go hell for leather, you get a situation where consumers benefit for a short while, but in the long term you’re decimating the industry.’

Key Takeaways

• A migrant worker was living in a tent in a living room of short-stay accommodation, paying $300 a week due to price gouging amidst a cost-of-living crisis in Australia.
• The inquiry into price gouging and unfair pricing practices was commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to identify the 'scale of price gouging practices'.
• The inquiry heard that up to 16 per cent of the temporary migrant workforce were illegally paid below the national minimum wage.
• Testimony indicated that value is not spread evenly across the supply chain. Supermarkets would increase their prices during supply shortages but do not pass on decreases in supply costs to the consumer.

Members, what do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The RBA is working from the wrong hymn book. Years ago putting interest rates up reduced inflation. We now have NO manufacturing in this country, putting interest rates up to stop spending only hurts the little people. All our spending power does, is send money overseas, it doesn't reduce inflation, there is not a thing we purchase that's made in this country even quite a lot of our food.

 

[mylittletibbies]

The shortage in affordable housing is the government's fault. They have been selling off their social housing for many years and not replacing them. The government need to have a good hard look at their own policies. Why can't they put a cap on rental houses. Most of them are owned by the rich.

Actually a very large percentage of rentals are owned by mum and dad investors, trying to make a nest egg for their future.
They have mortgages, which keep going up and up, putting a cap on rents would force them to sell up as they wouldn't be able to meet their own commitments, leaving less houses in the rental market.
Even for those houses that are owned by more wealthy investors.
Investors invest to make money, property owners have many expenses to cover, some being council rates, water rates, house insurance, tenant insurance, property managers weekly charges, inspection charges, maintenance and repairs, etc.
It is getting to be that there are safer and better places to invest your money and this will force investors to think twice about investing in the property market.
It is a very simplistic idea to say put a.cap on rent but unfortunately it isn't that simple.

 

[LeahI]

I hope the ACCC looks at the workings of the RBA. Increasing interest rates seems to fuel inflation, not check it.

Oh I agree. Raising interest rates is simply not working. Only making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Surely these clever economic minds can come up with a better solution.
Start by making all of the banking industry pay a small percentage of the rate increase profits into an Australian housing fund and then get them built asap. Start relieving the stress from the bottom up.

 

[Sheenagh]

I hope the ACCC looks at the workings of the RBA. Increasing interest rates seems to fuel inflation, not check it.

THE ACCC are beyond useless - they have a history of doing nothing until such times as people power embarrass them so much they are forced to do something. Please dont think they can help at all.

 

[Subduedshilo]

This may seem a little racist and I know it is not her fault, but there is no other way of saying this…….
At least she had a roof over her head while we have thousands of people, including families, who don’t even have that!!
Stop bringing in migrant workers and start making these ‘Dole Bludgers’ work for their keep. It is the only way the government can dig Australia out of this nightmare they put us in

 

[CristinaV]

Actually a very large percentage of rentals are owned by mum and dad investors, trying to make a nest egg for their future.
They have mortgages, which keep going up and up, putting a cap on rents would force them to sell up as they wouldn't be able to meet their own commitments, leaving less houses in the rental market.
Even for those houses that are owned by more wealthy investors.
Investors invest to make money, property owners have many expenses to cover, some being council rates, water rates, house insurance, tenant insurance, property managers weekly charges, inspection charges, maintenance and repairs, etc.
It is getting to be that there are safer and better places to invest your money and this will force investors to think twice about investing in the property market.
It is a very simplistic idea to say put a.cap on rent but unfortunately it isn't that simple.

I used to rent my unit and although the rent was not as high as it could have been, it paid all expenses including the mortgage.
It seems obvious that mum and dad investors have no idea on how to manage their rental/investment property.

 

[mylittletibbies]

I used to rent my unit and although the rent was not as high as it could have been, it paid all expenses including the mortgage.
It seems obvious that mum and dad investors have no idea on how to manage their rental/investment property.

Many of them got sucked in by banks when interest rates were low and they were lending on as little as 5%
deposit, and prices were nowhere near as dear as they are now. Not everybody is a financial genius and you are right some of them have no idea.
I also have a rental, which I am in the throes of cleaning up to sell. One less house on the rental market.
Fed up with chasing tenants for rent, having to explain to them during inspections how to actually look after the property, having to dispose of tenants rubbish, complaints from neighbours, etc etc etc.
I don't have a mortgage, but nonetheless find it's not worth the hassles. Over the years we have found good tenants are as rare as hens teeth.
Shall invest my money elsewhere and just sit back and let it earn interest.

 

[Babbie]

The shortage in affordable housing is the government's fault. They have been selling off their social housing for many years and not replacing them. The government need to have a good hard look at their own policies. Why can't they put a cap on rental houses. Most of them are owned by the rich.

That is not so, many rentals are owned by struggling mum and dads trying to get ahead. I know several and good luck to them. Pity you are so bitter in your twilight years!

 

[GillyH]

The shortage in affordable housing is the government's fault. They have been selling off their social housing for many years and not replacing them. The government need to have a good hard look at their own policies. Why can't they put a cap on rental houses. Most of them are owned by the rich.

I agree they have been selling off social housing to build more housing apartments, units, no big house blocks like before. Alot of people live in social housing with only one or 2 people residing there for years. Paying minimal rent no one is checking on them. Some of these properties are meant for families. The government needs to check chase up the people who are trying to beat the system.