Politics live: Inflation rises to 4.3%, increasing rate hike fears; Hanson calls Chalmers and staff ‘hypocrites’

The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, has held a press conference as part of the party’s push to allow Australians early access to super to pay rent or make mortgage payments

People are struggling to keep roofs over their heads. Have we got an obligation for people in this nation to do what we can to assist them now. It is their money. I’ll raise another point what a bunch of hypocrites – [treasurer Jim] Chalmers and his staff – when members of parliament can access 3% of their super.

But the Super Members Council has estimated a typical 30-year-old worker on that income would end up $25,000 poorer by retirement if they opted in to the One Nation plan.

Poorer retirees would force the government to spend more on the age pension. The SMC estimated the Covid-era withdrawals, where 3 million Australians took out nearly $38bn, would cost taxpayers up to $85bn by the end of the century.

Inflation is ‘too high’, says RBA deputy governor

Andrew Hauser, the RBA’s deputy governor, said this morning’s inflation numbers were “too high”, but also “broadly in line” with what central bank officials and private sector economists were expecting.

Reserve Bank officials are appearing at Senate estimates this morning, and Hauser said the “nightmare” was that longer-term inflation expectations pick up, which would make it harder to get inflation out of the system.

We don’t think it is necessarily crystallising yet, but it is a particular risk.

More on inflation data:

The consumer price index shows that costs for everyday goods and services are rising at the same time as unemployment lifts, making life uncomfortable for many households.