The two sentences Anthony Albanese used to convince the Aussies he was ready to lead continue to haunt him as his approval rating plummets – but you wouldn’t know it in these extraordinary photos from the Cook Islands

As Anthony Albanese danced at a ceremony in the Cook Islands – and his popularity plummeted – a tweet he sent days before he was elected to govern the country came back to haunt him and expose his policy failures.

The Prime Minister said: “Australians are being hit with a triple whammy: the skyrocketing cost of essentials, falling real wages and now an interest rate hike.

“They need a government with a plan to lower the cost of living.”

More than eighteen months later, that ‘triple whammy’ is only getting worse: inflation for the year to September remained worryingly high at 5.4 percent; Australian borrowers were hit with yet another rate hike this week – the 13th in 18 months; and incomes continue to fall in real terms.

And support for Labor and Mr Albanese both fell sharply in the first Newspoll since the defeat of the Voice to Parliament referendum.

Labor has fallen behind the Coalition in the primary vote, 35 percent to 37 percent, while on a two-party preference basis, Labor leads 52 percent to 48 percent – ​​its weakest showing since it won government in May 2022.

While many households are struggling to pay their bills as the costs of utilities, groceries and petrol skyrocket along with mortgage repayments, the Prime Minister showed off his dance moves during his visit to the Pacific Islands Forum.

On the island of Aitutaki, Mr Albanese wore a bright green shirt and a garland around his neck – one of the customs at such events.

But at home, in an ominous sign, the RBA now predicts that inflation will remain above the target range of 2-3 percent until at least the end of 2025, after previously predicting that inflation would return within that range by June 2025.

The first rate hike since June will add $99 to an average $600,000 mortgage after persistently high inflation saw the Reserve Bank inflict more pain on Melbourne Cup Day.

Annual repayments on a typical Australian mortgage are now $18,744 higher than at the beginning of May 2022, when Reserve Bank interest rates were still at a record low 0.1 per cent and banks were offering mortgage interest rates starting with a ‘two’.

And gasoline prices are also rising.

The official Consumer Price Index data also showed an annual increase in fuel prices of 19.7 percent, leaving motorists paying $2.40 per liter for 95 octane unleaded gasoline.

This increase predated the last Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers admits will likely lead to even more serious increases in gasoline prices.

“We expect that some of this price pressure on the Bowser may be exacerbated by what we are also seeing in the Middle East at the moment,” he said late last month.

Another problem for Labor was that electricity prices rose by 18 percent annually in September, despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promising at the last election to cut average energy bills by $275 by 2025.

The Twitter post is now drawing criticism from Australians who have noted that the post has ‘not aged well’ given the current crises.

“So, when are we going to get a government with that plan?” someone asked.

Another wrote: ‘It’s looking more and more like this isn’t your gang.’

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley shared the message again this week, after announcing the interest rate hike.

She said, “Well, this didn’t go well Albo, did it? Australians are paying the price for Albo’s failures.

“With the Prime Minister gone, Australians are hurting again at home. Where is Labour’s plan to help with living costs?’

A government spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia there was no denying that ‘many people are struggling’.

But the spokesperson said: ‘The Albanian government’s first priority is to tackle inflation and pressure on the cost of living.

“The coalition conveniently forgets that they have racked up a trillion dollars in debt with almost nothing to show for it.

“We’re doing our best to clean up the mess they left behind.”

The government has repeatedly placed the blame squarely on the opposition, arguing that they spent 18 months in government trying to repair the damage left by the coalition’s decade in power.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has also driven up the prices of many of that region’s natural resources, and there appears to be no plan to end that war anytime soon.

The Albanian government contributed hundreds of millions in funds and military equipment to that war, despite economic chaos at home.

Since coming to power in May 2022, the government has “provided relief from electricity bills, made medicine cheaper, made it cheaper and easier to see a doctor, expanded parental leave, built more social and affordable housing and increased housing benefit increased,” said a spokesperson. .

Labor has also argued that cost-of-living cuts have provided relief, even at a cost to taxpayers, and cuts only allow telecoms and utilities to charge more.

Dr. Chalmers argued that without electricity cuts of up to $500 in the May budget, the bills would have been even more brutal than they already are.