Flailing newsrooms stymied by household luxury spending splurge

Multiple reports from the statutory authorities confirm living standards for all Australians are rising steadily, as Alan Austin reports.

THE PERCENTAGE of household spending Australians allocated to dining out hit an all-time high of 13.8% in the financial year ended in June. That’s up from 11.8% ten years ago, in 2015-16 and well above any year under the dismal Coalition.

This adds to the evidence that Australians across all quintiles are now enjoying a remarkable upswing in living standards as the Albanese Government’s decisions on wages, pensions, benefits, tax levels, fuel prices, employment and industrial relations have taken effect.

This is now forcing newsrooms to abandon their false narratives that Australia is still in a costs crisis and quality of life is declining.

It completely undercuts Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson’s ridiculous claims that “Australian families are going without the essentials” and the Government is “driving down living standards”.

Last Tuesday’s monthly household spending indicator published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows total spending on luxuries – dining out, cosmetics and jewellery – hit a fresh record for the third year straight, at 22.91% of all consumer spending. See chart below.

Total household spending hit a monthly high in June of $81.3 billion, closing the financial year with a record of $947.5 billion. That’s up a thumping 5.3% over the previous year, well above average pre-COVID annual rises of 3.6%.

ABS head of business statistics Tom Lay said the latest spending surge was driven by strong rises in discretionary spending, “thanks to continued strength in Transport and Recreation and culture”. New vehicle sales were the standout within transport this month, driving a 3% rise.

According to the ABS:

‘Air travel spending was the second largest contributor to the strength in transport spending, as it returned to levels seen before the travel disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict that began in March 2026.’

Pockets of hardship remain

Of course not all families are flush with cash. Some still struggle to pay for food, rent and medical expenses. The destruction wrought by nine years of Coalition incompetence cannot be repaired instantly. This must never be forgotten.

As a proportion of the population, however, the severely disadvantaged are diminishing steadily.

More families than ever before have returned to the recreational activities enjoyed before the Coalition’s cost-of-living crisis whacked the nation prior to 2023.

Lay said:

“The 1.4% rise in Recreation and culture came from a few categories in June, with households spending more on electronic goods, performing arts and other live entertainment, and gambling activity likely supported by major sporting events.”

Investors applaud resilient economy while newsrooms refuse to report it

Encouraging information on jobs and wealth has been greeted with a range of interpretations.

Increased spending is not because of price rises

The ABS media release emphasised that spending increases are not due to price rises. Families can now afford higher volumes of goods and services.

Said Lay:

“Household spending volumes rose for the third quarter in a row in the June quarter, driven by discretionary categories such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco, recreation and culture, furnishing and household equipment, and hotels, cafes and restaurants.”

The household spending volumes indicator rose 0.7% in the June quarter over the previous month, an annual rise of 2.4%.

Bizarre media coverage of June quarter outcomes

Curiously, there has been an eerie silence from all the Nine newsrooms on these spending figures. As far as searches reveal, there has been no mention at all in The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald or Nine television news, or any of the dozens of Nine-owned news outlets.

It seems that if data contradict the network’s ongoing false narratives about falling living standards under Labor, they must be studiously ignored.

ABC News ran a sound factual report, headed ‘Australian household spending increase driven by electric vehicle sales and travel’. The Nightly ran a similar straightforward positive summary.

All the Murdoch newspapers reported the ABS findings fully, although with multiple minor errors in the data and an ominous warning that rising prosperity could lead to higher interest rates.

None of them openly acknowledged that this data contradicted the mainstream media narratives, although the Murdoch reports did concede this:

‘AMP economist My Bui says there was little sign of cost-of-living pressures in Tuesday’s household spending data.’

Maybe the newsrooms are getting closer to abandoning their mendacious campaigns.

Economists and newsrooms collaborate to lie about Australia’s economy

Australia’s media has hit a new low in deceptive reporting, but with one positive note.

Business starts accelerate

In further good news, a record 44,040 new companies were registered in July, according to last week’s report from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). This exceeded the previous high in June of 43,393.

At the end of July, total registered businesses reached 3,776,288 — a record both in number and relative to population.

According to Treasurer Jim Chalmers:

Many more businesses are being created on our watch and there is a much smaller proportion of insolvencies than under the Liberals and Nationals.

We already saw before the budget that average new company registrations were higher under this government... and today’s data continues this trend.

S&P Global reaffirms triple-A credit rating

International ratings agency S&P Global reaffirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating last Thursday with a strong endorsement of Labor’s policies.

S&P said:

‘Our AAA rating on Australia derives support from its: (1) strong institutions, which are conducive to decisive policymaking; (2) wealthy economy; and (3) effective monetary policy, anchored by a floating exchange-rate regime. These strengths have ensured the country's economic resilience through prior crises, despite volatile commodity cycles.’

S&P commended the May budget, noting:

‘Australia's planned property tax increases and savings measures should help mitigate rising structural spending pressures.’

We now await the August job numbers, inflation figures, housing data and the Reserve Bank (RBA)’s decision on interest rates. But so far it’s been a pretty good month. Maybe we could go to a restaurant to celebrate.

Alan Austin is an Independent Australia columnist and freelance journalist. You can follow him on Twitter @alanaustin001 and Bluesky @alanaustin.bsky.social.