Fact check: Under Labor (2022 - 2025), Australia’s inflation has been consistently higher than most major advanced economies.

1. Summary of the results

The claim that Australia's inflation has been "consistently higher" than most major advanced economies under Labor (2022-2025) is not supported by the available data. Here's why:

• Australia's inflation has actually significantly decreased from 6.1% at the time of Labor's election to 3.6% in March 2024 ^[1]
• While Australia did experience a peak of 7.8% inflation in late 2022 ^[2], this was actually lower than many other advanced economies during the same period, with several G7 nations experiencing double-digit inflation ^[3]
• According to economist Saul Eslake, Australia sits around the middle of the pack in terms of cumulative price changes among advanced economies ^[3]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual factors are missing from the original statement:

• Measurement methodology matters: Different countries use varying methods to measure inflation, making direct comparisons complex ^[2]
• Post-pandemic context: The high inflation period was part of a global post-pandemic trend, not unique to Australia ^[2]
• Trending improvement: The monthly inflation indicator shows a clear downward trend, reaching 3.5% by March 2024 ^[1]
• International comparison: Australia's quarterly inflation has consistently remained below the OECD average since Labor's election ^[3]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The statement appears to have clear political motivations:

• It has been identified as coming from a Liberal Party political advertisement without supporting evidence ^[4]
• The claim has been thoroughly debunked by multiple expert economists and international organizations including the OECD and IMF ^[3]
• The statement cherry-picks data by ignoring the broader context of global inflation trends and Australia's relative performance
• Those who benefit from this narrative would be the opposition Liberal Party, attempting to criticize the Labor government's economic management despite contrary evidence from independent economic experts