Today's release of consumer price index (CPI) figures showing annual inflation sitting at 6.1% have been influenced predominantly by the new tax system changes and petrol price rises.
While data on the exact effect of the GST will not be released until the end of November by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), today's data shows automotive fuel increased more than 10% over the September quarter.
This contributed to the 3.7% quarterly inflation rate.
"What makes this outcome particularly relevant has been the major role of petrol prices in driving the price level upwards," Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive, Mark Paterson, says.
"In the quarter, the rise in automotive fuels has been 10.4% (and) over the year the increase has been 23.6%.
"These increases are the direct result of the rising international price of crude oil. They are an impost on Australian industry which has the potential to lead to a slowdown in economic activity," he says.
While Paterson says petrol's influence on inflation is around 0.5% over the year, Federal Treasurer Peter Costello estimates it to be closer to 1% and at 0.4% for the September quarter.
"World oil prices have increased by around 50% in US dollar terms over the past year, leading to sharply higher petrol prices in most countries," Costello says.
"The overall increase in the CPI was below the Budget forecast or around 4.5%, reflecting what appears to be a lower than expected impact from the introduction of the new tax system being partly offset by higher than expected petrol prices."
For more information on the inflation rate and industry bodies' responses, visit
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