March 17, 2026
CPA Australia warns today’s interest rate rise will deepen the cost-of-living crisis and make it tougher for many small businesses – particularly those heavily reliant on fuel.
With fuel prices surging, inflation remaining stubborn across essential goods and services, and consumer confidence weak, households and businesses face a perfect storm of rising costs and weakened resilience.
Gavan Ord, Business and Investment Lead at CPA Australia, said fuel reliant businesses are already feeling the pain, with transport, trades, logistics, agriculture and regional operators among the hardest hit.
“These businesses are feeling bruised by higher fuel costs that are flowing through every part of their operations,” Mr Ord said. “Fuel isn’t optional – it’s fundamental – and when prices spike, costs rise immediately with very little room to hide.
“For many small businesses, fuel is now one of their largest and most volatile expenses. Combined with higher interest rates and persistent inflation, it’s making an already difficult situation worse.”
Mr Ord said the latest rate rise hits at a time when confidence across the economy is already low.
“Households are pulling back, businesses are losing confidence, and yet costs keep rising,” he said. “This rate increase adds fresh pressure just as many were hoping for some relief.”
“Borrowers who might have believed last month’s rate rise was a one off will be deeply disappointed – at the same time as fuel, food and energy bills continue to climb,” Mr Ord said.
For small businesses dependent on transport and mobility, the impact is being felt daily.
“Every trip, delivery and service call now costs more,” Mr Ord said. “Businesses can’t absorb these increases indefinitely, and many are running out of options.”
CPA Australia warned that consumers should brace for flow on effects.
“When costs rise this sharply and this quickly, prices at the checkout inevitably follow,” Mr Ord said. “Many small businesses will be forced to pass on higher costs, while others will delay investment, reduce services or scale back employment.”
CPA Australia said the economic pressure highlights the urgent need for long-term reform to improve business sustainability.
“Short-term relief won’t fix a system where small businesses are burdened by high costs, excessive red tape and uncertainty,” Mr Ord said. “What is needed is decisive action to cut unnecessary regulation, lift productivity and restore confidence.”
Mr Ord urged businesses and households under strain not to wait before seeking advice.
“In conditions like this, early decisions can make a positive difference,” he said. “Accountants help businesses manage cash flow, plan for volatility and navigate heightened financial risk.”
Cairns News has surveyed several service stations to check fuel prices and how quickly they increased in the Far North.
We can say that Caltex has been caught price gouging at one of its sites lifting the price three times by 30 cents in two days but not getting a fresh load of fuel.
Caltex has been screwing its customers and hopefully they won’t forget it.
I think it will be sad that this federal government after four years of dismal performance will be able to use the excuse that the declines in Australia are due to overseas factors such as fuel prices. I expect Labor to win the SA State election on 21 march, using, as it has done so for years, Vote Frauds, about which I am possibly Australia’s top expert.
Hey folks,
Let’s be honest here, Super trump aka Peace President Ginger Nuts is ENTIRELY RESPONSIBLE for most ALL the strife afflicting the world right now, INCLUDING the worldwide FUEL CRISIS (now THERE’S a MANUFACTURED crisis if ever there was one).
Still think Super Trump the ALLEGED child rapist is coming to SAVE us ?
So here’s some more grist for the mill, folks…
[ youtube.com/watch?v=gP7i5Z8rgDs ]
Sounds like Australia’s about due for a REGIME CHANGE, don’t you think? We might characterise this as the “Battle of the Nuts” – the clash of Ginger Nuts and Pig Nuts. Maybe Penny So Wong oughta be negotiating a bulk purchase of some of those CARRIER KILLERS from China while she still can.
And meanwhile, folks, don’t lose sight of the larger down-home TRUTH, namely that here in Australia the Treasonous foreign-owned sold-out paid-off baby-eating mongrel arsehole bastards masquerading as our “government” are STILL Hell-bent on demolishing our society and economy and country and grinding every Australian down into the dirt and into early graves, all in Globalist LOCKSTEP ready for the Great Reset and New World Order.
Hey folks,
“Fuel Shock”?
It’s hardly a “Fuel Shock” when there’s NO F*CKING FUEL!!! Don’t look now, folks, but that’s EXACTLY what’s coming at us like a freight train RIGHT NOW.
And consider all that LNG that Australia EXPORTS to the rest of the world for a SONG, folks, for literally NOTHING and gets ZILCH in royalties while our customers are all LAUGHING at our national naivety. You know, folks, that LNG that Australians AREN’T ALLOWED TO USE (that’s right, folks, it’s ALREADY ILLEGAL in any new Victorian housing construction) and pay TOP DOLLAR for it if we can even GET it at all, while Australia is one of the TOP THREE LNG exporters ON EARTH! WTF!?!?
And what about all that COAL, folks, we export SHITLOADS of the stuff, Australia is the TOP COAL EXPORTER on the entire planet, but we’re NOT ALLOWED TO USE IT ourselves! WTF!?!?
And what about all that URANIUM, folks, Australia has 40% of the world’s known Uranium reserves and exports it to the world but we’re NOT ALLOWED TO USE IT! WTF!?!?
Maybe be stocking up on canned and non-perishable food and water and consumables like TOILET PAPER while you still can, folks, and rest assured we’re talking IMMINENT shortages and EMPTY SHELVES, in a matter of WEEKS not months or years. And it’slikely going to last for YEARS, Martin Armstrong himself admits he’s personally stockpiled enough to last out a couple of years, folks, so maybe you need to take it seriously.
And consider this, folks, HOW are you gonna flush them thar TOILETS when the municipal water pumps SHUT DOWN?
Seriously. And how you gonna COOK them noodles when there ain’t no ELECTRICITY and no WATER to boot?
Meanwhile there’s OTHER things going on that will blend into the chaotically unfolding future…
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtR36guqIYU ]
But don’t be getting too comfortable or optimistic about THEM shenanigans, folks, because you’ll notice there’s scant reference to the festering WARS and to the Globalist DEPOPULATION campaign all rolling along quite nicely alongside all of this OTHER shit.
Never mind that the foreign-owned Treasonous sold-out paid-off low-life baby-eating mongrel arsehole bastards pulling all the strings neither work for us nor answer to us. The ONLY ones that are gonna look after YOUR interests is YOU, folks. You, and Mr. Rope and Mr. Lamp Post.
CPAs pet project is lower income taxes by broadening and increasing GST. Food is too cheap atm. The CPA make no mention of inflationary tax regs and wilful reckless bank lending practices that have blown a massive bubble in RE; no mention of how the Consumer Price Index is rigged to underplay real inflation, etc.
Mission implosion is almost complete. The Fabians and LNP have this.
Sir Rope. Do you still not know yet that the voting system is rigged, so voting is futile?
Aussies = Bovine.
cliffordbennett.com.au says RBA is the highest paid central bank board in the world and the dumbest
I’ve a feeling that China will become a major exporter of petroleum products having access to gulf oil and permission to sail the Strait of Haemorrhage.
Singapore, South Korea and Japan will become less relevant in supplying Australia’s needs, only yuan not greenbacks will be the traded currency.
It is now clear that the Iranian war is about four converging agendas; a/driving farmers off the land to accelerate Agenda 2030-2050, b/ accelerating the push for EV ownership. EV’s will be an essential part of geo-fenced 15 minute smart cities, due to their ability to upload driving data in real time and be remotely switched off if you exceed your number of allowed trips outside or LGA, or your carbon-based social credits score drops too low, c/ moving ahead with the Greater Israhell project, and d/ providing the opportunity to stage a psy op to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque by claiming a stray Iranian missile hit the mosque, so Israhell can build the Third Temple (which is already pre-assembled and ready to build) #BeyondTheReset #Antichrist #1984.
AN audience of graduate economists was bewildered and bedazzled by the magic of the exclusive RBA board.
Me, can hardly believe the dribble coming out of the RBA front-person’s mouth today, going for about an hour, a mystical mix of factoids and creative inversions of cause and effect etc., we know OPEC set the tone when they looked at how much money was being printed they jacked the petrol price up 50%, that was a few years ago now and we are still getting the knock-on effect. The massive price hikes around 2022 were ignored by our clever statisticians. The inflation or rather dollar devaluation was BAKED IN long ago, going back as far as when the government assets were finally all sold off by Keating and Howard. The dollar devaluation was ramped up a bit more during CoV ID, at least some of us got a few handouts from that.
The so called chair of the RBA has in recent times been supported by deputy Andrew Hauser from BoE London, just as Canada has Mark Carney, from BoE London. So the colonies are being commandeered from London, you know that bankrupt place with a House of 800 or so Lords running it with dozens of offshore tax havens. They don’t leave even 5 pence laying around for fear it might be stolen.
Meanwhile the RBA has to make excuses for interest rates while being the agent who allows the government to print money for their pork-barrelling, the treasurer creates bonds, that is a DIY mortgage, and the RBA cheerfully pays for them with their printed monopoly money. The RBA could make some effort to rein in the banks but like the TGA they are another regulator who is owned by the regulatees. Yes it’s another official farce.
The RBA admits it themselves the interest rate affects the F.X rate so all those on the board voting can vote for the strongest possible AUD or not, and they will try to guess the progress of the USD bond rate and try not to get too far out of line. Meanwhile the other function of the RBA is to lie to the public that the public is responsible for all the policy failures. What a scam !!! The RBA board must be roaring with laughter, all internalised of course.
Now if we really wanted to slow down the housing price we would not be exporting it to student visa holders but this is our last remaining growth industry. In Thailand the foreigner MAY NOT own land. They can buy a ripoff priced apartment and own the airspace. Another idea would be to make land purchases only in gold, no created money, so if you wanted to buy house and land you would have to save up the gold for the land then mortgage yourself as much as you liked for the building on top.
But don’t worry, Andrew Hauser and Mark Carney will make sure nothing changes and everything ticks over the same, with the dividends going to one of many tax havens the British Empire set up all over the world, where everyone can salt away their spare squillions, including Maduro of Venezuela and even the Khomenis of Persia.
Obviously, we are us and they are them and twas always thus.
I leave the conclusions to Commenter Sir Rope.
Aussie consoooomers deserve to be screwed by Caltex. Aussie cattle elected a gov that failed to reform the petroleum resources sector, and that failed to address Australia’s fuel security issues.
If Aussies don’t like it, they should vote with rope.
Aussies = bovine.
Could someone please explain why someone (the RBA Governor) who earns $900,000 a year does not know the difference between an overheated economy caused by genuine DEMAND factors – and cost-driven inflation created by external cost increase factors!!
In other words, why the heck does the economy need to be cooled by increasing interest rates when it is ALREADY cooling because of crippling cost increases!! increases?? How the hell does that improve anything??
What it does is worsen the stagflationary cycle by hurting investment in productive activities – which is counter-productive at a time when incentives are needed to INCREASE economic activity not dampen it further
Am I missing something or am I just dumb?? The only explanations are that either it is simply reflects a deeply flawed understanding of economics OR that it is part of a PLANNED and DELIBERATE IMPLOSION of the economy
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