● Watson Foundation rams Norwegian krill trawler in Antarctic waters   ♦ Murdoch empire holds 70% of print circulation   ♦ Australia gave away $300B in gas — Norway built a sovereign wealth fund   ♦ Kerry Stokes: mining magnate, media owner, political donor   ♦ Negative gearing costs taxpayers $6B per year   ♦ How they killed the mining tax   ♦ The revolving door between politics and media

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The Inflation Rort

The wealth The Inflation Rort moves offshore.

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THE RORT · LIVING MODEL OF POWER · CASE FILECASE OPEN — TRACKING
CASE FILE · CORPORATEARTICLES · 8

The Inflation Rort

STATUS · Ongoing · unresolvedA$6,073,920,000

Rate rises did the work while margins widened. The regulator found the supermarket sector 'not working well' — and recommended no structural remedy. Share prices rose on the day.

01 / The evidence chain

01The two inflations02Greedflation03Why the RBA did all the work04Who rate rises hurt05Who rate rises helped06The fiscal tools they didn’t use07The political connections08The reckoning

02 / Who's named

The RBAFEDERAL REGULATOR · 7The ACCCFEDERAL REGULATOR · 6ColesCOMPANY · SUPERMARKETS · 4WoolworthsCOMPANY · SUPERMARKETS · 4The PRRTMECHANISM · TAX · 2Duopoly & ConcentrationMECHANISM · 1TransurbanCOMPANY · TOLL ROADS · 1QantasCOMPANY · AVIATION · 1SantosCOMPANY · GAS · 1

03 / The money

67%of supermarket grocery sales controlled by Woolworths and Coles — in a sector the ACCC describes as ‘oligopolistic’ with ‘limited incentive to compete vigorously on price.’ EBIT margins among the highest globally.SOURCE · ACCC Supermarkets Inquiry final report, March 2025GreedflationA$3B vs A$14.9BAustralia’s main supply-side fiscal intervention: A$3 billion temporary fuel excise cut for 6 months. Annual fossil fuel subsidies maintained: A$14.9 billion. No windfall tax on energy sector. No bank levy.SOURCE · ACCC fuel monitoring / Australia Institute fossil fuel subsidies reportThe fiscal tools they didn’t useUntil at least 2027Real household disposable incomes expected to return to pre-inflation levels no earlier than 2027. Real wages (WPI measure) remain near 2023 trough. Cumulative 3-year real wage loss for average worker: ~A$10,000.SOURCE · RBA / AFR / Australia InstituteThe reckoning7.8%December quarter 2022 inflation peak. Primary causes: Ukraine war energy prices, COVID supply chains, reopening demand surge. The RBA raised rates 13 times in response. Rate rises are a demand-side tool.SOURCE · ABS CPI data / RBA cash rate historyThe two inflationsA$32.5 billioncombined FY23 profit for the big four banks. Up 12.4% year-on-year. Record. Net interest income A$74.9 billion — up 13.8%. The same year 1.5 million mortgage holders reached stress.SOURCE · UNSW BusinessThink / EY major banks analysisWho rate rises helped1.5M+ householdsat risk of mortgage stress by October 2023 — up 700,000+ from pre-hike period. 1 in 50 mortgage holders facing potential inability to repay. Monthly repayments up A$1,210 on a A$500K loan.SOURCE · Roy Morgan / RBA / RateCityWho rate rises hurt

Nobody wrote this page. It assembled itself from the 8 investigations that make up The Inflation Rort, and it deepens automatically each time The Rort publishes another in the series. The named actors, the sourced figures and the evidence chain stay in lockstep with the archive.

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