Australians are paying almost 30 per cent more for domestic flights than they were before the pandemic, according to a new report.
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On top of that, airfares are showing signs of rising even higher before the Christmas holidays.
Analysis by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) also found "discounted economy airfares" were hardest hit by escalating prices, with some setting a 15-year record due to limited capacity and strong demand.
And it's not just air fares which are heading up. Energy prices are also rising - though maybe the government will put a lid on them.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government was willing to open its coffers to help ease the pain.
Ahead of a national cabinet meeting on Friday, Dr Chalmers said all options remained on the table with the government preparing to hand down its path forward on energy prices before Christmas.
One thing that isn't going up fast enough for some is welfare payments.
Welfare organisations reiterated calls for an increase to social security payments to help people keep up with the rising cost of living.
At a federal parliamentary hearing into the extent of poverty in Australia, organisations said a rise in the amount of JobSeeker or Youth Allowance would also benefit the mental health needs of those on the payments.
Whether summer temperatures are going up too far is a matter of taste.
The residents of Queensland will have to make up their own minds. They are being urged to keep fluids up and stay in the shade or indoors with a severe heatwave forecast as temperatures soar this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe heatwave warning for a vast swathe of the state stretching from Coolangatta north to Townsville and across to the Northern Territory border.
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
