When RBA governor Michele Bullock announced the third consecutive interest rate rise this week, she acknowledged the real-world suffering that would result.

But just how much pain is too much? And is there a better way?

Inflation has surged to its highest level in years, driven by soaring fuel prices, higher energy costs and global instability.

For households already squeezed by rate rises, the pressure is mounting. Is this a short‑term shock the Reserve Bank can look through or the start of another prolonged inflation fight?

What happens next for interest rates, wages, jobs, and the economy as a whole just one week before the Budget?

Guests:Diana Mousina, Deputy Chief Economist, AMPDavid Bassanese, Chief Economist, BetaShares

Show links:

See how the price of everything has changed, ABC News StoryLab, March 30, 2026

Consumer Price Index, Australian Bureau of Statistics, March 29, 2026

Why the official inflation rate feels wrong, The Economy Stupid, October 30, 2025

Stagflation is about to push unemployment higher: here's what to expect, The Economy Stupid, March 26, 2026

Australians might expect to benefit from the global rush on our natural gas resources. But will we?

Petrol prices are up, car use is down, public transport and electric cars are booming, yet Australians are buying petrol more often than ever. Bank data shows panic topping‑up, driven by fear, not need. In this episode of The Economy, Stupid, we explain why fuel demand barely shifts with price and what it will take to finally break our dependence on petrol and diesel.

Guests:

Adam Triggs, Economist at consultancy Mandala; Researcher at the Australian National University and the Brookings Institution.

Paul Burke, Energy specialist and long‑time researcher at the Australian National University.

You know what they say about a crisis, suddenly, all sorts of things become possible. During the COVID crisis, the government doubled Newstart, paid wage bills, and allowed access to super - things that had almost no chance of happening. Right now, with the budget just weeks away in the midst of a crisis almost anything is on the table. What may that include?

Guests:

Tom Crowley, ABC economics reporter. 

Bob Breunig, tax expert. 

Australia’s birth rate is collapsing, heading for a record low next year, well below the level needed for the population to replace itself. 

Fewer couples, fewer kids, and a world where ageing societies reshape everything from innovation to taxes. Why is this happening everywhere at once, and what does it mean for your future?

Guests: 

Viva Hammer, ANU population researcher and tax expert

Myriam Robin, AFR senior writer

What happens when the economy stops playing by the rules?

We’re taught that inflation and unemployment move like a seesaw, one goes up, the other goes down. But sometimes the seesaw snaps. Prices climb and people lose jobs at the same time. 

It happened dramatically in the 1970s, and with oil prices surging again and global tensions rising people are whispering the word Stagnation once more. 

Guests: 

Professor Bob Gregory, one of Australia’s most influential economists, who watched the original outbreak of stagflation unfold and later sat on the Reserve Bank board during another era of economic upheaval.

Gareth Hutchens, ABC business and economics reporter who has spent years examining how these big economic shocks ripple through everyday life.

The Reserve Bank says it’ll do whatever it takes to crush inflation, even if it means Australia falls into recession. But for millions of Australians, the pain is already here with petrol prices soaring and mortgage repayments climbing. So did the RBA really have no choice but to lift rates again? Or is this a risk the Bank didn’t need to take?

Guests: 

Gianni La Cava, Former Senior Research Manager at the Reserve Bank of Australia; now Senior Economist at the e61 Institute.

Cherelle Murphy, Oceania Chief Economist, EY

From food security to fuelling our air force, the global oil crisis threatens far more than the cost of driving a car. So what happens next?

GDP is meant to measure economic progress, yet even war can make it rise. So what exactly is it measuring?