Big businesses are enjoying record profits while ordinary Australians struggle to cope with crippling cost-of-living pressures.
This month alone has brought announcements of a $1 billion profit for Coles (up 4.8%), a $1 billion profit for Origin Energy (up 83.5%) and a record $2.4 billion underlying profit for Qantas.
In contrast, the cost of living for workers rose 9.6% in the year to June 2023 while wages grew only 3.6% – leaving most workers to make do with less.
This disconnect between corporate revenue and the health of workers’ pay packets has led to accusations of unnecessary price gouging.
