The Government Don’t Like Us in Oz

For the last 11 or so months, my salary has stayed exactly the same. However, the cost of living, or inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index, has steadily increased over the same time period by about 6%. This means in real terms I’m going backwards. As I succinctly labelled the chart that I made in the video, My Poverty Progression. I’m still doing exactly the same work. I haven’t slacked off, or anything. Perhaps I should. Essentially I’m being paid less for doing the exact same work. My purchasing power is going backwards.

To be fair, the university are currently in negotiations (they send us an update email now and again), and by the sounds of it, the current sticking point is whether we’ll be getting a 4% or a 4.5% pay rise. These negotiations have been ongoing for months. But regardless of the result, my salary is not going to keep up with the cost of living. I will be getting poorer in real terms.

I thought the Queensland Government might be able to help, silly me, with regards to power prices at least. Oh no! The government-owned Ergon Energy, which is the only supplier that I’m allowed to use, is raising their prices as of yesterday, 1 July 2023, by 28.7%! Suddenly my 4 or 4.5% pay rise shown in yellow isn’t looking so good anymore. Thank you Queensland Government! Does anybody else just think that this is completely ridiculous?

Isn’t it funny? I’m pretty certain that the Labor government, whether that’s Queensland or the Federal Government, it doesn’t really matter, didn’t they promise to help regular Australians with cost of living pressures?

What happened to my cost of living? The government have completely lost control of the electricity market. A 29% increase as compared to my, maybe, 4% increased salary. It’s absolutely bonkers.

Not to mention that the Queensland Government completed wasted $223 million on a do-nothing quarantine facility. In total, only 730 people were ever housed in this facility costing the taxpayer more than $300,000 per patient.

Remembering that we’re currently in a housing and rental crisis. There’s an actual shed up for rent for $350 a week. Apparently anything goes for accommodation now here in Australia.

According to an investigation held by the Courier Mail, Queenslanders are desperate to find a property. Real estate agents have been placing limits on property viewings. Tenants have been submitting high-level resumes and offering cash in advance. Caravan parks have zero vacancies. Parents and children have been living in motels for months, and people have been forced to find strangers online to live with in a bid to keep off the streets. Not to mention that hot-bedding has become a real thing among desperate international students where they are actually sharing beds with complete strangers because they cannot afford to rent a room of their own due to sky-high rental prices. They essentially split the rent of a bedroom with strangers to use a bed that is only available between certain hours. When one person is not in bed, someone else is in it. Oh, it has become a complete Hunger Games here in Australia.

The Queensland Minister for Housing, Meaghan Scanlon, who only became the Minister a couple of months ago as part of a Cabinet reshuffle, said that the housing crisis is not the Government’s fault. Of course not! It’s the greedy landlords and the local councils. Obviously, the Queensland Government never do anything wrong. It’s only all the good stuff that they’re responsible for. All the bad stuff is somebody else’s fault.

Anyway, that’s my poverty graph. Luckily I own my own little flat, but what all those people struggling to pay the rent or pay back their mortgage? I just can’t believe that the government have let this spiral out of control. It leads me to believe one of two things. Either the government absolutely hate us and want us to suffer, or they’re completely incompetent. Which is it?

ERGON ENERGY PRICE INCREASES
https://www.ergon.com.au/retail/residential/tariffs-and-prices/price-changes-from-1-july

$300K PER PATIENT: $223M WELLCAMP QUARANTINE CENTRE
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/30/300k-per-patient-queensland-auditor-general-questions-decision-to-build-223m-wellcamp-quarantine-centre

EYE-WATERING PRICE FOR ‘SHED’ SPARKS FURY
https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/a-cubby-house-grim-insight-into-brisbane-rental-market/news-story/c9d54db3a0def954539a45969d874bee

‘HUNGER GAMES’: AUSTRALIAN CITY WHERE IT’S ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ TO RENT
https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/hunger-games-australian-city-where-its-impossible-to-rent/news-story/d0c71729f7fececc140198db0aa8a61d

HOUSING MINISTER MEAGHAN SCANLON TAKES AIM AT LANDLORDS, COUNCILS AS HOUSING CRISIS BITES
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/housing-minister-meaghan-scanlon-takes-aim-at-greedy-landlords-councils-as-housing-crisis-bites/news-story/9458fbe7760e52c4eab5ea64c35abea8

MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn