The annual growth of service prices is falling, and wages are not in any way keeping up with the cost of services: But here again we see little reason for the RBA to stamp its foot on the brake. The Reserve Bank often worries about the price rises of services, because they involve lots of workers and are linked with wage growth. The impact was rather sizeable – had the rebates not occurred electricity prices would have increased 18.6% rather than 4.2%. She noted they reduced “electricity bills for all households in Brisbane and Perth, and for concession households in the remaining states and territories”. Michelle Marquardt, the ABS head of prices statistics, noted for example that electricity prices in the quarter “were partially offset by the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates”. In such cases, governments can have a much greater impact than interest rates.
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