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Families being crushed by the sky-high cost of living can expect some modest relief, with a cabinet minister indicating the federal government is considering measures that may come into effect before the May budget.
In May 2022 Albanese waved a $1 coin in Adelaide, declaring, "It's not bad luck, but bad policy that wages aren't keeping up with the cost of living."
Now he's prime minister, it's his burden.
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Though wages have started to pick up, they still lag behind inflation.
After Albanese summoned Labor MPs to Canberra for a mid-week meeting, there was an expectation the government would do more, Health Minister Mark Butler indicated.
"We're keen to get going on this which is why the prime minister has called caucus back together," Butler said.
But shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said it "looks like policy on the run".
"It looks more like politics than dealing with the real issues, which is the pain that Australians have been feeling for a long time," he said.
"The standard of living of the average Australian has fallen more than any other major advanced country in the world."
Whatever the government does it has to be very careful not to overheat an already pressured economy.
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Deloitte Access Economics lead partner Pradeep Philip, said it was called "the goldilocks conundrum".
"The government's got to make sure that they give relief to those who absolutely need it, and not to those who don't need it," he said
"Real wages have been flat or negative for too long. The tax burden on personal income taxpayers has been rising."
Wages have been outstripped by the cost of living since June 2021.
The gap between wage growth and inflation got wider and wider, peaking in late 2022.
And while the gap's been narrowing, the cumulative effect is ever sharper household pain.
Whether it's another round of energy bill relief or some other modest measure, nothing can be done to fully offset inflation without making it worse, but the government wants to be seen doing something
