Social commentator Prue MacSween has launched a scathing attack on Anthony Albanese, accusing the Prime Minister of being out of touch with struggling Australians after he attended a Commonwealth leaders' gathering in the Caribbean.
The criticism comes as Albanese spent the week in Antigua attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting alongside King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and world leaders including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The Prime Minister was joined by his wife, Jodie Haydon, at a royal reception and state dinner where guests were served a multi-course Caribbean menu featuring mahi-mahi, local produce and Antiguan black pineapple tarte tatin.
Back home, Australians are facing growing financial pressure after the Reserve Bank delivered the fifth interest rate increase this year and warned inflation could remain above its target range well into 2027.
Canstar modelling shows a borrower who took out a $600,000, 30-year mortgage when Labor came to power in May 2022 would initially have paid $2,399 a month.
Once the latest hike takes effect, that repayment will reach $4,056, an extra $1,657 every month, or $19,884 a year.
On a $600,000 mortgage, a rate increase from 2.5 per cent to 6.74 per cent adds $2,120 a month, or $25,440 a year, in interest alone. That comparison holds the balance steady and excludes principal repayments.
MacSween said the contrast between the Prime Minister's overseas engagements and the financial circumstances confronting many Australians would not be lost on voters, referring to an infamous moment where former Scott Morrison said he didn't 'hold a hose,' when criticised when being on holiday during the 2019 black summer bushfires.
Albanese (pictured) was overseas when the Reserve Bank increased interest rates on Tuesday
Prue MacSween (pictured) said that Albanese's trip was his 'I don't hold a hose' moment
'We know Albanese is an expert at schmoozing and presenting himself as a great mate and bloke when he is backslapping and prancing on the world stage,' she said.
'But in reality, this is his "I don't hold a hose" moment.'
She said that images of the Prime Minister attending high-profile events with members of the Royal Family showed Albanese was disconnected from the economic pain being experienced by ordinary households.
'Sitting at the cricket with the little missus and holidaying in the Caribbean to chum it up with the royals may be a buzz for them, but it looks like an insult to battling Australians who will not be able to afford a holiday for years,' she said.
MacSween also suggested Albanese may be seeking political distance from the government's economic challenges, while Treasurer Jim Chalmers faces increasing pressure over inflation, interest rates and living costs.
'Albanese is driven by optics and public relations spin,' she said.
'He would be well aware of how bad this trip looks back home, but he is prepared to brazen it out.'
'I think he has weighed his options.'
Albanese will spend six weeks criss-crossing the globe to attend meetings and summits
'One option is to let Chalmers wear the heat while he is overseas and then eventually make him the fall guy for the economic mess Australians are facing.'
The comments come as the Reserve Bank delivered a stark assessment of the economy despite signs of slowing growth.
'The economy is slowing, housing prices have fallen significantly and the unemployment rate has risen,' the central bank said following Tuesday's decision.
The RBA also warned inflation was expected to remain elevated for longer than previously forecast.
'Inflation is now forecast to remain elevated through much of 2027 and is not expected to reach the top of the 2 to 3 per cent target range until late 2027,' the board said.
Those concerns are already emerging in the labour market, with Australia's unemployment rate climbing to 4.7 per cent, the highest level in five years.
MacSween said the political danger for Albanese was that voters may increasingly associate him with a worsening cost-of-living crisis regardless of who carries responsibility within government.
'He would like to survive for another term and I suspect his ego will not allow him to think otherwise,' she said.
'But Australians are hurting and they are paying a lot more attention to what their leaders are doing while they struggle to pay their mortgages.'
The Caribbean visit is the first in a series of overseas trips for Albanese over the next six weeks.
Following his Caribbean jaunt, he will travel to Turkey for the UN climate conference, followed by the East Asia Summit and Australia-ASEAN Summit in the Philippines.
He will then head to China for the APEC Leaders' Summit and talks with President Xi Jinping, before finishing with the G20 Summit in the United States in December.
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