The Albanese government is facing fresh pressure to relieve cost-of-living pain for households as mortgage holders brace for another interest rate rise this week.
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The hip-pocket crunch, a proposed shakeup of the industrial relations system and Labor's climate change bill are set to dominate the political agenda as the Federal Parliament returns for another sitting fortnight on Monday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is tipped to raise the cash rate by as much as 50 basis points at a meeting on Tuesday, as it continues efforts to rein in surging inflation.
Motorists are then set to feel the pain of higher petrol prices with the temporary halving of the fuel excise set to expire at the end of this month.
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Opposition frontbencher Simon Birmingham stopped short of calling on the government to extend the 22c a litre cut beyond September 28, but demanded Labor detail its plan to ease the burden on struggling households.
'It's for the government to explain, as this measure put in place by the previous Coalition government comes to an end, what is it they're going to do? What are their policies?" Senator Birmingham told Sky News.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said ending the fuel excise would be a "difficult decision" as he conceded it would add to inflation.
Mr Albanese said he was concerned about the cost of living, but insisted the Labor government was taking steps to relieve the pressure. That includes indexing social security payments for 4.7 million people, including those on Jobseeker and the pension, to help keep pace with inflation.
"I of course am concerned about the cost of living because I know that so many Australians are doing it tough out there," Mr Albanese told ABC's RN Breakfast.
Opposition treasury spokesman Angus Taylor said the rising cost of living would make for a "tough Christmas" for many Australians.
Mr Taylor also warned that a plan to allow unions to strike pay deals across multiple workplaces - known as "multi-employer bargaining" - would drive up inflation.
The government committed to legislating to allow access to multi-employer bargaining at last week's jobs and skills summit in Canberra, after a peak small business group said its members wanted to have the option.
However, the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia stressed that the system must be voluntary.
The opposition has vowed to fight the Labor government's plan, arguing that it will open to door to economy-crippling strikes.
Mr Albanese would not rule out making the system compulsory when pressed on Monday morning, as the government starts consultation on the shakeup.
"We'll have those discussions ... we don't have the legislation before us," he said.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
