Parents choose between food and fuel, businesses brace for rising costs

Canberrans on lower incomes are being forced to choose between healthcare, food and fuel, as petrol prices rocket towards $2.20 per litre, ACT Council of Social Service chief executive Dr Emma Campbell said.

"Prices are rising faster in the ACT than as compared to nationally," Dr Campbell said of the cost of living.

"Any increases in prices for things like food, fuel, health are particularly impactful in the ACT for people on low incomes because of the high cost of housing."

While Canberra has the highest mean income in Australia, it also has the highest rental prices and the largest number of people experiencing rental stress.

ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods Associate Professor Ben Phillips said there was "no doubt" the hike in fuel costs would impact cost of living across the capital.

READ MORE:

"But the groups I would be most concerned about would be low-income people ... just because they always have a a smaller [financial] capacity to deal with shocks such as high petrol prices."

A report by the Council of Social Service highlighted significant increases to the cost of electricity, health, housing, education alongside other essentials over the past five years.

"People are choosing to delay things that might help their health in order to cover immediate costs, which may be fuelling the car up so you can get your kids to school, or get to your job," Dr Campbell said.

"And ultimately, we're seeing an increase in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness, because they cannot cover all of the costs associated with maintaining their family and a roof over their heads."

Dr Campbell pushed for increased income support help people gain employment and better access to social housing.

However, most Canberrans will be able to weather the extra costs, Professor Phillips said.

"I think typical, average-level incomes in Canberra are very high, so most people in the ACT are probably able to wear that quite well."

Businesses across the Canberra reliant on freight or transport are also feeling the pressure, Fyshwick Business Association's Rob Evans said.

"I think everyone is gearing up and is well aware that costs are going up, and they're going to have to tighten their belts a little bit," Mr Evans said.

The manager of Braddon's Moxom+Whitney Florists Rachel Duggan said the business would likely have to absorb the rising costs of shipping.

Roses, which before COVID had cost about $8 a stem are now about $10 due to interruptions to supply chains, she said.

"Including the [impacts] of COVID, and then all the petrol hikes, in the next couple of months we're going to have to go up to about $13 or $14 a stem, which is too expensive for any customer."

"So it's possibly a cost that we're going to have to absorb as a business, so that we can still supply the product, because it's our biggest wedding product."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday said the federal government will seek to ease cost of living pressures in the federal budget, to be handed down on March 29 ahead of an expected May election.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: