Australians are getting a $300 sweetener in the form of a rebate for energy bills in this year’s federal budget to help deal with cost of living pressures. But economists are concerned that the short-term gain will mean longer-term pain — if the savings are spent by households, that could further fuel inflation and potentially cause the Reserve Bank to further increase interest rates.
" "Treasury is now forecasting inflation could return to target earlier, perhaps even by the end of this year," he told federal parliament.  But Deloitte Access Economics Partner Stephen Smith said the increased spending in the budget may stoke inflation, making the job of the central bank more difficult. He described this as a "big spending budget" that had the potential to fuel inflation.