The Catholic Weekly 6 November 2022

catholicweekly.com.au 2 6, November, 2022 THE COST OF LIVING WAR IN Ukraine, the COV- ID pandemic, and extreme weather events are among the factors contributing to “ter- rifying” soaring costs of pet- rol, electricity and gas, says Dr Andrew Papadimos, lectur- er in economics and interna- tional business at Australian Catholic University. Virtually all Australians will suffer from the Federal Gov- ernment’s predicted rise of 50 per cent in family’s power bills plus rising costs of virtually everything else over the next two years, Dr Papadimos told The Catholic Weekly last week. “Even for people with high- er incomes, power costs will take a big chunk of their bud- get. It’s tough for everybody no matter what their income,” he said. Dr Papadimos said that supply chain issues due to the pandemic, and the war (Rus- sia is a major supplier of the ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues No relief anytime soon on power world’s gas and resources for generating electricity), com- bined with the ravaging of lo- cal crops due to bushfires and floods added to the snowball effect this year of raising the prices of everyday items. Another issue is that ex- porters of Australia’s natural gas are largely foreign-owned companies, with our coun- try needing to pay increasing costs to import gas back, he explained. Although under a relatively new change to Federal law (the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mech- anism), exporters would be made to limit their exports or find new gas sources to ad- dress any short-fall in the do- mestic market as a last resort. Dr Papadimos believes that changing government regu- lation of the electricity and gas markets and investing in green technologies will ulti- mately make our power costs cheaper, but in the meantime there will be no short-term re- lief for stretched family bud- gets. “Re-regulating gas and electricity takes time and the government is trying to bal- ance its budget, so there will be a lag of at least a few years before they can do anything,” he said. “The only real relief people can get is maybe government subsidies or tax relief for those who are most affected, but then that will only be really short-term relief. Certainly in the long term we’ll see better days but in the short to medi- um term it’s going to be a very bumpy ride.” The country also needs to repair and stabilise its rela- tionship with China, which has been a strong economic partner for the last 50 years, Dr Papadimos added. In the meantime, families should save as much as they can, try and reduce electricity consumption and seek finan- cial advice froma professional if they need help with balanc- ing their budget. “People will have to try to lower their expectations too, I won’t be so flippant as to say they’ve got to get rid of their smashed avo’ on toast because it’s not as simple as that,” Dr Papadimos said. “People deserve the right to enjoy themselves sometimes, but it has to be within their means.” I n this edition News Sports Archbishop’s homily Editorial & Letters 1-11 8-9 17 24 EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 Debbie Cramsie (02) 9390 5396 Adam Wesselinoff (02) 9390 5400 SUBSCRIPTIONS Rita Ng (02) 9390 5411 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Steve Richards (02) 9390 5404 Katie Clarke (02) 9390 5402 DESIGNERS Renate Cassis Mathew De Sousa Our story begins in 1839 with the Australasian Chronicle, continuing with the Freeman’s Journal in 1850. Level 13, Polding Centre, 133 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Phone (02) 9390 5400 | Vol 73, No 5260 The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by Spotpress Pty Ltd, 24-26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204. “Whatever the circumstances may be, always put the Invisible before the visible, the Supernatural before the natural; if this rule is applied to all your actions, we know that you will be equipped with strength and bathed with deep joy.” “Love does not make you weak, because it is the source of all strength, but it makes you see the nothingness of the illusory strength on which you depended before you knew it.” - Leon Bloy (1846-1917) QUOTABLE CatholicWeekly The Call Katie on (02) 9390 5402 www.catholicjobsonline.com. au Find a candidate DIAMONDWOMEN provides options counselling, support and assistance for women and their families facing an unplanned pregnancy. Contact 1300 851 592 www.diamondwomen.com.au Worried? Alone? Pregnant? CENTRES LOCATED IN BAULKHAM HILLS, GOSFORD, SYDNEY, MACQUARIE FIELDS, PENRITH AND SOUTH SYDNEY COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT Photo courtesy of Giovanni Portelli Dr Andrew Papadimos Virtually all Australians will suffer from the federal government’s predicted rise in power bills. PHOTO: UNSPLASH.COM