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Agency sorry for “bragging” email about $225 a week rental price hike

A property company exposed celebrating a $225 per week rental price rise as an “achievement” in an email to clients has apologized.

In a statement to Nine from its spokesperson, property management firm Ironfish said it accepted “that the tone of the update was insensitive.”

Last week, a renter shared a screenshot of an email update from Ironfish, releasing its numbers for June.

“Achievement in June: Biggest rent increase – $225 per week,” the flyer said.

Below the details is a photo of kids pillow fighting on a bed.

The user posted the email to Reddit with the comment: “My rent just went up $400 a month and the agency sent me an email bragging about it…”

READMORE: The “aggressive” number that exposes Australia’s rental crisis

Rental crisis property tenant Reddit
The full screenshot on Reddit, by a user who identified themselves as a tenant. (reddit)

The email also told recipients the average weekly rental increase is almost $100 a week, and revealed comparative increases in asking prices: “July 2021 to December 2021: $393. January 2022 to June 2022: $460”.

The Reddit thread exploded in response.

A spokesperson for Ironfish told Nine an email apology has been sent to recipients, and the business recognized the hardship within the housing market.

The spokesperson said Ironfish had “kept tenants and owners informed of support measures for those experiencing financial distress” and advised owners of properties with tenants facing financial difficulty to offer rental discounts.

The rental increase referred to in the original email was applied at the end of a tenancy agreement, following a discount period during the pandemic, the spokesperson said.

READMORE: Johnny Galecki seeks $17 million for his Spanish-style LA home

Nationally, the cost of renting is rising – and not just for houses.
Tight national vacancy rates have made the rental market very competitive. (Supplied)

“Ironfish has apologized for a recent email newsletter which highlighted rental price increases, sending an apology to recipients,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“We know that many of our clients, tenants and owners, have experienced intense stress and financial hardship during the Covid-19 pandemic and accept that the tone of the update was insensitive.

“We will ensure our future content is more carefully considered and provides greater insights for all of our clients. The update highlighted a rent increase of $225 per week – in context, this was due to a new tenancy and an adjustment from a previously Covid discounted rent, returning to normal and current market rates.

“The pandemic was a difficult time for tenants and also for owners, as lockdowns hit and vacancy rates emerged.

“Recent rental adjustments follow substantial decreases in the past two years, and median rents in Melbourne’s CBD remain below pre-Covid levels.

“Since the start of the pandemic, Ironfish has kept tenants and owners informed of support measures for those experiencing financial distress. We advised owners to engage with tenants facing financial difficulties and offer rental discounts. We facilitated many substantial rent reductions and also assisted owners and tenants in compiling and lodging applications for Covid relief support packages.”

READMORE: Shailene Woodley purchases $6 million mid-century mansion

The Reddit responses to the original email included some from landlords (not associated with Ironfish).

“Landlord here, it’s not justified. It shouldn’t even be legal to increase the rent that much for the same tenant. Different if new tenants come in but that’s an outrageous amount,” one user commented.

Another said: “I have been a landlord for a couple of years, and will not be putting up the rent (to the annoyance of the Real Estate Management company) – tenants have been there 12 years and keep the place immaculate, always pay on time. They got young kids, both working in low paid jobs, doing the best they can.”‘

READMORE: Amber Heard sells her home for $1.6 million after Johnny Depp court ruling

One tenant called the email “cringe” and a landlord remarked: “I received the same email and had the same disgusted feeling, and I’m an owner (just not with them).”

Data from large national real estate agency Ray White shows that advertised rental prices have increased by almost 14 per cent, outpacing CPI rental price rises of 1.6 per cent.

At the same time, the national vacancy rate this month has tightened to a record level of less than 1 per cent, according to Domain.

A lack of listings has increased competition, and rising interest rates – with costs being passed on by landlords to tenants – plus inflation, has continued to squeeze the rental market to a crisis point.

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Holden ZB Commodore 2017 – 2020 vehicles urgently recalled over manufacturing defect

Holden ZB Commodore 2017 - 2020 vehicles urgently recalled over manufacturing defect

Almost 14,000 Holden vehicles have been recalled over a manufacturing defect that could increase the risk of an accident.

This week, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications issued a recall of some 13,898 Holden ZB Commodore 2017-2020 cars.

“Due to a manufacturing defect, the brake booster may fail. If this occurs, the stopping distance in the un-boosted condition would exceed the distance prescribed by the Australian Design Rule (ADR) 31/03,” the department said.

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“The vehicle is not compliant with the vehicle standard (ADR) 31/03-Brake Systems for Passenger Cars.”

There are fears that if the brake booster does not operate as intended, it could increase the risk of an accident causing serious injury or death to vehicle occupants or other road users.

The owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by General Motors Australia and New Zealand and asked to contact their local dealer to have the Electronic Brake Control Module (EBCM) software updated, free of charge.

A full list of VIN or vehicle identification numbers can be found here.

For more information contact Holden Customer Care on 1800 46 465 336 or [email protected].

Terrific moment cassowary chases down driver.

Terrific moment cassowary chases down driver.

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Commonwealth Bank profits climb to $9.7 billion

the Commonwealth Bank has announced a 9 per cent increase in profits to $9.7 billion.
Most of the bank’s profits were driven by a strong rise in lending last year when the national housing market was charging ahead, underpinned by super low interest rates.
In a note to the asxChief Executive Matt Comyn warned of difficult times ahead for many Australian households because of rising inflation and higher costs of living.
A man and woman withdraw money from a Commonwealth Bank ATM
Australia’s biggest bank has posted a $9.7 billion profit for the 2022 financial year, up 9 per cent over the full year (TheAge)

“We have seen a rapid increase in the (RBA) cash rate which is negatively impacting consumer confidence,” Comyn said.

He expected consumer demand “to moderate” as cost of living pressures increase.

“It is a challenging time, but we remain optimistic that a path can be found to navigate through these economic conditions.”

Comyn said, against many measures, Aussie homes and businesses remained in a relatively “strong position.”

Matt Comyn, CEO and Managing Director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). (Sydney Morning Herald)

As the property market cools, the bank’s analysts believe a correction of around 15 per cent is on the way, with perhaps an even harder fall in Sydney and Melbourne.

At 11:30 AEST, the bank’s share price was down about one per cent.

As the Reserve Bank continues to lift interest rates, more households are being pushed into mortgage stress.

Mortgage stress is the total of household income and expenditure.

If there’s more money going out than coming in, they’re classified as stressed.

Gautam Adani with Malcolm Turnbull in New Delhi in April. (APA)

World’s richest people revealed

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Coles receipt acknowledgment of country ‘unnecessary’, Indigenous leader says

Coles receipt acknowledgment of country 'unnecessary', Indigenous leader says

Coles has stood by its inclusion of an “acknowledgment of country” on its receipts despite the move being slammed as “unnecessary” by an Indigenous leader.

“Coles Group acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We recognize their strength and pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging,” the message says.

“Coles Group extends that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognize their rich cultures and consulting connection to land and waters.”

It comes after Channel 9’s The Block and Channel 10’s The Masked Singer also featured acknowledgment to country messages.

Wurundjeri elder Ian Hunter told the Herald Sun on Wednesday the Coles receipt message was “unnecessary”.

“For it to have more meaning, it would be better for Coles to locate the message on receipts for specific areas, for example Coles in Darebin could acknowledge the Woiwurrung people,” he told the newspaper.

“The acknowledgment of country shouldn’t be taken lightly. I’m getting fed up with this; it’s a real overreach.”

But in a statement, a Coles spokeswoman defended the move.

“With more than 2,500 stores nationally and as one of Australia’s largest employers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Coles Group is proud to include an acknowledgment of country on our receipts,” she said.

“We work hard to create opportunities for Indigenous peoples, organisations, communities and customers to engage with our business and continue to increase understanding, value and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories, knowledge and rights.”

She also shared a Coles Group document titled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement.

“Our purpose at Coles is to ‘sustainably feed all Australians to help them lead healthier, happier lives’,” a message from Coles Group chief executive Steven Cain says.

“This purpose is underpinned by our strategy to win together with our team members, suppliers and communities, and includes a commitment to diversity and inclusion for all Australians – including Indigenous Australians.”

The document states that over the past 10 years, Coles has increased its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team member representation from 65 to more than 4,400, representing 3.8 per cent of employees.

Last month, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson dramatically stormed out of the Senate during the routine morning acknowledgment, yelling, “No, I won’t. I never will.”

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe, a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, slammed the move as “disrespectful” and “racist”.

But Indigenous Senator Jacinta Price from the Country Liberal Party said she “understands” why Ms Hanson stormed out.

“While I understand the need for acknowledgment is important, we’ve just been absolutely saturated with it,” she said at the time.

“It’s getting to the point where it’s actually removing the sacredness of traditional culture and practices. It’s become almost like a throwaway line. We don’t want to see all these symbolic gestures, we want to see real action.”

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How David Jones is targeting 582m Chinese customers via WeChat

How David Jones is targeting 582m Chinese customers via WeChat

Upmarket legacy retailer David Jones is arguably better known for its old-fashioned shops and traditional customer service than its online innovation.

But the department store appears to be one of the only Australian retailers tapping into the gigantic Chinese market on a social media platform that boasts 582 million active users a month.

The retailer’s chief marketing officer James Holloman has described the platform Weibo or WeChat as “world leading” combining the elements from other social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as the ability to pay bills and buy everything from fashion to beauty products .

With more than 40,000 followers and three years on WeChat, Mr Holloman said David Jones’ Chinese clients were “incredibly important” to the retailer, which has signaled unrivaled “commercial success” on the social media platform.

“WeChat is a full ecosystem for mainland China … and it’s almost a one-stop shop for mainland Chinese where they are doing kinda like Facebook, Instagram and a payment wallet all in one,” he told news.com.au.

“You technically follow different accounts and different individuals, and you use it essentially as a WhatsApp version between your friends in terms of messaging, but then you also follow different brands and it’s similar to a really immersive email.

“It’s basically a full immersive ability to shop directly from incredibly immersive posts … and you can follow everyone from Louis Vuitton, Coca Cola, Estee Lauder to Dior.”

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For David Jones, many of his followers are part of the Chinese community living in Australia and the bulk are aged between 25 and 36, Mr Holloman revealed, which has given the retailer “massive growth” from younger shoppers.

One of the department store’s big moves has been around Singles Day, an unofficial holiday and shopping event held on 11 November every year in China, that celebrates people who are not in relationships.

“Last year during the Singles Day shopping event, which is almost the biggest shopping day worldwide and it’s bigger than Black Friday, we did our first live stream,” Mr Holloman said.

“It’s the equivalent of shopping television where we had an hour and a half of fully engaged viewers watching our life stream of all of amazing products and key specials happening over that day and we had 13,000 viewers watching that on WeChat.”

For the Lunar Year in February, they introduced the little red packets which are a traditional gift of money, and allowed people to send them virtually to friends from their account.

Influencers have also been key to the brand’s success, I added.

Mr Holloman said mainland Chinese are important clients for buying premium goods, with a report from consulting firm McKinsey revealing that 50 per cent of the global luxury goods will be purchased by the Chinese by 2025.

“It’s a very hot market for the stuff that we sell,” he added.

“Secondly, there is an audience in Australia that want to be communicated to. There are 1.2 million Chinese born Australians so that’s a huge proportion as it’s almost 5 per cent of the Australian population.

“We want to talk to our clients in the language and way they best feel most comfortable in… and understanding and engaging in and on a platform that they feel most comfortable in.”

This approach has also been translated into stores as well with sales associates who speak fluent Mandarin, he added.

WeChat recently praised David Jones’ SS20 Beauty campaign as a part of a global showcase of best-in-class activity and it was the only international retail store featured on the list.

The beauty campaign, themed Full Bloom, included video, imagery, emails, in-store visual merchandising, a 36-page print booklet and shoppable article pages.

“With clever use of shoppable product display functions and rich graphic design elements, the campaign achieved a click through rate of more than double that of industry benchmarks,” WeChat said.

Another “incredible success story” for the China market has been landing Kim Kardashian’s popular Skims line, Mr Holloman said.

“She can be polarizing, but it’s been a commercial success and from what we hear from customers, they are excited to have such exclusive brands across our network,” he said.

The retailer copped fierce backlash when it announced it was stocking the star’s products, with loyal fans of the store accusing the world-famous influencer of diminishing the retailer’s “class” after DJ’s shared a video to their Instagram page of Kim promoting the brand.

However, despite its investment in WeChat, David Jones has no presence on another social media platform that has been blowing up – TikTok – which has over one billion users.

“We are incredibly strong on Instagram and on Facebook, we have in excess of 400,000 followers on Instagram and 600,000 on Facebook,” Mr Holloman said.

Queensland University of Technology retail expert Dr Gary Mortimer said David Jones’ use of WeChat is a “great strategy”.

“They are taking advantage of a growing middle class affluent Chinese market that does often look for Australian brands and often international brands and David Jones has the ability to provide those brands to that particular audience,” Dr Mortimer told news.com.au.

“When you look at what they are doing in that space they would be aligning themselves with Chinese influencers that connect really well with that Chinese market.

“They would be leveraging really large online promotional events like Singles Day that runs on the 11 November every year and it gets bigger and bigger.

“Singles Day is a bit like Amazon Price day but it turned over about $US85 billion ($A122 billion) last year. The Chinese market is a very valuable and viable market for Australian business and brands.”

Dr Mortimer said China’s population of 1.3 billion compared to the “tiny” 26 million living in Australia also showed it was a lucrative field to play in.

“Trust is huge issue for the Chinese population who are concerned about counterfeiting, so working on a Chinese platform gives legitimacy for David Jones in that market,” he added.

“Woolworths is playing in that space as well.”

In 2015, Woolworths opened its first overseas flagship store on the Tmall website and has also partnered with supermarket 7 Fresh since 2020 offering WeChat as a payment system.

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Coles shopper reveals best time to get discounted meat, bread

Coles shopper reveals best time to get discounted meat, bread

With cost of living out of control, every shopper is trying to cut their costs as grocery prices climb higher.

But one Coles shopper from Wodonga, Victoria has revealed the exact time she goes to the supermarket to make massive savings, providing the results with a $10 haul valued at more than $200.

The woman went to her local store at 8pm two nights in a row to test her theory and shared the results on popular Facebook group Markdown Addicts Australia.

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On the first night she purchased $215.11 worth of products but spent just $10.92, with the haul including chicken thighs, two lots of prosciutto wrapped chicken, Nature’s Kitchen spaghetti bolognaise, lamb chops and sweet treats.

The woman went back the next day and spent $3.95 on $75.60 worth of groceries.

This haul included bread, red velvet cupcakes and plant-based burger patties.

“After last night I wanted to see if I could back it up! Seems our store has decided 8pm is the time to start marking down,” she said.

“Only stayed for bakery and meat, there was three of us getting meat so I just took the sausages and let the others go but there was about 10 different items. Had to leave after meat but they seem to do bakery, then meat, (before marking down) the dairy fridges and around in a circle.”

Social media users were keen to share their own experiences.

“That’s the kind of price I see too in my Adelaide stores, even just before shop shuts,” one social media user said.

Another added: “I’m jealous as I never get goodies like this but I’m also super happy for you!”

A Coles spokesperson said items are regularly discounted to avoid waste.

“We know our customers love good value so when a product is near it’s Best Before date we often mark it down so it can be enjoyed for a cheaper price, instead of being wasted,” the spokesperson told news.com.au.

“Markdowns do not uniformly take place at the same time across all stores.

“There are many things that can impact when this takes place including stock on hand, delivery schedules and team member rostering.”

Read related topics:cabbages

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RBA sends Sydney house prices into freefall

RBA crashes Sydney house prices

Sydney’s house price crash is accelerating with dwelling values ​​now down 5.9% from their peak and quarterly losses running at their fastest pace since 1983:

Sydney house price index

Sydney house prices fall at their fastest pace since 1983.

As clearly illustrated in the chart above, Sydney dwelling values ​​began falling sharply following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) first interest rate hike on 3 May. Since that first hike, Sydney dwelling values ​​have plummeted an extraordinary 5.3% – well in excess of any other Australian market:

Declines since first interest rate hike

Sydney suffers heavy price falls after rate hikes.

Sydney’s price falls have been driven by the premium end of the market – ie the top 25% of homes by value – where values ​​have fallen by around 9%:

Sydney price falls by segments

The most expensive 25% of Sydney’s housing market has experienced the biggest price falls.

Economist predictions for how far the RBA will hike rates vary, ranging from a peak in the official cash rate (OCR) of around 2.6% (CBA, AMP and NAB) to a peak of 3.35% (ANZ, Westpac and the futures market) .

This means that the OCR should rise another 0.75% to 1.50% depending on which forecast comes true, inferring a discount variable mortgage rate of between 5.95% and 6.70%.

Both scenarios would present a big lift in monthly mortgage repayments versus their level in April 2022 immediately before the RBA’s first rate hike.

As shown in the table below, mortgage repayments would rise by between 34% and 45%, representing a lift in monthly repayments of between $1,126 and $1,293 on a $750,000 mortgage:

Australian mortgage repayments

Sydney mortgage holders facing a massive lift in repayments.

Sydney house prices would likely fall hard under either interest rate scenario, ranging from a steep correction (circa 15-20% fall peak-to-trough) to an outright crash (over 20% decline).

The market’s fate is in the hands of the RBA.

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Meme stock frenzy has Wall Street baffled

Meme stock frenzy has Wall Street baffled

Retail traders who lurk in forums like Reddit’s WallStreetBets are back to betting against Wall Street pros and the Federal Reserve as rallies for meme stocks like Bed Bath & Beyond and AMC Entertainment Holdings show shades of last year’s mania.

The home-good retailer nearly tripled at one point during its nine-day winning streak while the movie-theatre firm capped a 65 per cent rally of its own as speculative pockets of the stock market surge. The pair have powered a basket of 37 meme stocks tracked by Bloomberg higher by 10 per cent over the past week while the most-hated stocks tracked by a Goldman Sachs Group basket is up roughly 17 per cent over the same period.

Giant retailer Bed Bath and Beyond jumped 40 per cent on Monday as retail traders piled in.

Giant retailer Bed Bath and Beyond jumped 40 per cent on Monday as retail traders piled in. Credit:Bloomberg

The resurgence of more speculative areas of the market is likely fueled in part by individual traders willingness to jump on riskier trades and bet against hedge funds. A rally in tech shares and other growth stocks at one point on Monday pushed the Nasdaq 100 Index up 20 per cent from a June low amid alarms from some on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve is set on fighting inflation regardless of the pain for the stock market.

The “smart guys” are “confused, baffled and fighting short positions from a position of weakness in terms of momentum and firepower,” said Mark Taylor, a sales trader at Mirabaud Securities. “The lack of real understanding of why a sudden resurrection of the meme-entum bid could lead to some nefarious speculation about things being manipulated but what would be as much sour grapes speculation as anything real.”

Bed Bath & Beyond’s taking of the meme stock baton resulted in a 40 per cent rally on Monday as a record 120.5 million shares changed hands with the stock being the second-most bought asset on Fidelity’s platform. AMC Entertainment was among the five most purchased stocks on the platform and saw trading volume triple what’s been normal over the past month. Both company tickers, along with GameStop, were the most mentioned on Reddit’s WallStreetBets platform.

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A basket of meme stocks tracked by Bloomberg rose 3.7 per cent, extending a six-day rally of its own. Among the group’s top performers were GameStop and Express. Newly-public Magic Empire, a little-known Hong Kong-based financial services firm, extended to 2,825 per cent two-day arises since going public, attracting some retail attention.

“These meme stock rallies that are emerging will only last if US stocks broadly continue to head higher,” said Ed Moya, senior market strategist at Oanda. “After AMTD Digital reminded the WallStreetBets crowd of the potential skyrocketing moves, many retail traders are scanning their favorite plays and are looking to get back in.”

The rapid rise and subsequent fall for AMTD Digital both puzzled and captivated the markets. The stock posted an eye-popping arises from more than 32,000 per cent at one point before erasing a chunk of gains.

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US man shocked to find out Vegemite has no expiry date

US man shocked to find out Vegemite has no expiry date

When tourists taste Vegemite for the first time their initial reaction is usually one of shock.

It has a very strong, bitter and distinct taste that you either love or loathe.

But one US man, who has learned to love the thick, dark brown spread, discovered something baffling on a jar he bought several years ago.

Taking to Reddit, he explained he bought the 220g jar from an import store in the US that he has been using it sparingly for quite a while.

“I still have not used it all up,” he wrote.

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But it was when he whipped out the jar a few days ago that he discovered a date to read ’23 June 2011′ on the bottom – learning the spread “doesn’t expire”.

“This morning I got it out to spread on some toast for breakfast. As I was eating it, I wondered how long I’ve been on this same jar.

“I looked for a ‘use by date’, and this is what I saw,” he wrote alongside a photo showing the date underneath the jar.

“If you’ve ever wondered if it’s true that Vegemite has no expiration date, I can confirm that it’s true.”

The man shared the post in the Reddit community group titled ‘Australia’ which boasts almost 1 million members.

And while the fact came as a shock to him, most Aussies were unphased by it with many quick to point out it is made from yeast extract and has a high salt content, which acts a natural preservative.

“It’s 70 per cent salt so you probably have at least another 6 Australian prime minister changes before it stops being effective against drop bears,” one person joked.

“Vegemite is to Australians what honey was to the ancient Egyptians. You will be OK to uncover a jar from a grave in 2000 years and still use it,” another person added.

A third added: “Two things will outlast humanity: 1. Micro plastics 2. Vegemite.”

Others went on to reveal how long they have had their Vegemite jars.

“My Vegemite has a celebratory Commonwealth Games label on it. Not sure which Commonwealth Games, but it’s definitely not the current one,” a Reddit user wrote.

Another Aussie said they found a jar at their nan’s place when they were cleaning the house after she passed away in the late 80s.

“She’d lived there for 40+ years. She found an old jar of Vegemite, like super old looking retro jar and label. Smelled fine, was a bit thicker but a finger dip tasted of it was fine too … but we chucked it anyway bcs we’re not that desperate,” they wrote.

However, others warned Vegemite can go moldy if contaminated with butter.

“I hope you dug the Vegemite out from the bottom to avoid the toxic combination of Vegemite and butter in the jar,” one person wrote.

“Every kid, and Hoges, knows that’s poison (absolutely fine to mix them on toast though).”

A second person wrote: “Vegemite lasts forever, HOWEVER, the butter that contaminates it from double dipping your knife will turn it rancid.”

Another warned: “It will only expire if contaminated with little bits of bread or butter.”

Some suggested to scrape off the top layer to avoid eating any contaminated bits.

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Cost of living: Australians react by eating out, spending $3 billion extra

Cost of living: Australians react by eating out, spending $3 billion extra

recession? Who cares! Aussies are spending wildly on dining out as the ship goes down.

Australia is officially sick of cooking dinner, and we’re done with Uber Eats: we eat in now. At current restaurants.

The latest retail trade data shows Australians have had it up to here with food that comes in plastic boxes and cardboard tubs. We want to go out. We want ambience. We want proper printed menus, commercial crockery, and the kind of wine glasses you’d never have at home because they are as big as your head.

As the next chart shows, it’s not that we’ve stopped buying takeaway food altogether – it’s just that we’ve gone mad for restaurant spending.

Forget pre-pandemic levels – Aussies spent $3 billion dollars on restaurants, cafes and catering in just the month of June. That’s unheard of. We don’t give a damn about Covid and we also don’t care about the possibility of an upcoming recession. We are living for the moment.

Special shout-out to Tasmania too, where spending has gone from under $30 million to almost $60 million. I feel sympathy for the stressed and overworked waiters of Hobart just looking at this chart.

There’s a lot of pent-up birthday dinners in the above charts. Wedding anniversaries too, as well as simple nights at the pub.

I know I’ve been taking the chance whenever I can order a coffee in a cup that doesn’t have a little plastic lid. I actually sit in a cafe and sip it. This chart shows I’m not alone.

Whether Australians are thronging to fine dining or greasy chip joints, we are doing it despite Covid. The most recent retail spending data is from the month of June, so it doesn’t fully capture the latest wave driven by variant BA.5, but Covid has been an ever-present threat throughout this period when restaurant spending was rising. We’re not post-pandemic yet, even if we would like to be.

But what is different from 2020 and 2021 seems to be attitudes: We couldn’t give a stuff. Restaurateurs must be loving it (while infectious disease physicians might have another view).

fear fatigue

Australians are overly concerned. Before we celebrate this too much, we should remember the many with chronic illnesses and immune susceptibility for whom fear fatigue is not an option. Covid is killing more of us than ever. What’s different is we’ve assimilated that information. It’s part of the background hum now, rather than a salient and terrifying factor that affects people’s choices.

New risks are more frightening than old risks. Which is why you might think economic factors could be impeding restaurant spending. There’s a lot of chatter about recession risk, and when you look at surveys of consumer confidence, people report feeling gloomy. ANZ calls it “recession-level” confidence.

Once upon a time consumer confidence was a good guide to spending. But not now, apparently! Real recession level confidence doesn’t make people go out for dinner. What does might be an unemployment rate of 3.5 per cent – ​​by far the lowest in decades.

I know what you are thinking

You’re thinking: Hey, the rise in spending could be because of higher prices. What if it’s not more restaurant meals, just bigger restaurant bills because of inflation?

It’s a really good thing to look at, which is why I checked that data as soon as I saw the spending data I showed you above.

So what does the price data show? It shows the price of restaurant meals shot up in the June quarter, by 1.4 per cent. That is high in historical terms! But not nearly enough to explain how spending rose 10 per cent in the same period.

The numbers really do reflect more plates of scrambled eggs, more Quarter Pounders, more pho, more Diet Cokes and more froyo. It’s a sign Australia has changed: We’re fearless now.

Jason Murphy is an economist | @jasemurphy. He is the author of the book Incentivology.

Read related topics:Cost Of Living

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