RBA confirms corporate price gouging fuelled inflation
2026-05-19
greens.com.au
New research from the Reserve Bank has confirmed what millions of Australians already knew: big corporations used the cost of living crisis to push through higher prices and boost profits.
“The Reserve Bank has again acknowledged that changes in corporate pricing behaviour played a sizeable role in the inflation crisis,” Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.
In Senate Estimates in 2024 Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock agreed with Senator McKim that corporations were using the cover of a significant rise in inflation and a lack of competition to boost their profits over and above what would be required to meet increases in their input costs.
“This backs up what the Greens have been saying for years. Corporations used the cover of global shocks to gouge consumers and pad their profits,” Senator McKim said.
“The answer cannot be higher interest rates and more pain for ordinary people while the corporations driving inflation walk away with billions. We need strong anti-price gouging laws to stop corporations exploiting crises to rip people off.”
“One of the reasons Australians are paying too much for food, insurance, banking and flights is because a handful of giant corporations dominate entire sectors of the economy.”
“We need a boost to competition powers to meet this challenge of concentrated market power. Divestiture powers - as exist around the world - are needed so that courts and governments can break up companies that misuse their market power and squeeze Australian consumers.”
“Labor has spent years protecting corporate profits while households have been smashed by higher prices.”
“The Greens will keep fighting for laws that put people ahead of corporate greed.”
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