The treasurer says "there is more work to be done" to tighten the government's belt as inflation runs riot and borrowers learn interest rates might not start coming down until the end of 2027.
Bond markets are pricing a Reserve Bank rate hike on Tuesday at greater than 80 per cent, after hot inflation in the September quarter and hawkish comments from central bank top brass.
For mortgage holders, like Adelaide account manager Cooper, that means interest rates will hit their highest level since 2008.
The 33-year-old entered the market in 2021 when the cash rate was at a record low 0.1 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Every house was pretty much just skyrocketing in price," Cooper, who asked for his surname not to be used, told AAP.
"It was insane going through the housing market and basically getting told that there's no prices anymore because it was moving that fast."
Despite the significant cash rate rise in the past five years, Cooper said he was yet to make significant changes to the family budget.
"We're not considering digging through the garage and finding stuff to sell on eBay yet. But we know that's a potential possibility down the line for us," he said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government would rise to the challenge of slashing spending to put a lid on inflation in December's mid-year budget update.
"There is more work to do to make the budget as tight as it can be," he told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
"We do have an inflation challenge in our economy, it is made much worse by the war in the Middle East, and the responsibility that we accept - the responsibility that we embrace ... is to find responsible savings where we can."
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was also spruiking Labor's economic management credentials.
Opponents have criticised him for making the Caribbean trip while cost-of-living woes intensify for Australians at home.
"By engaging in the world, we can deal with our national security interests, but also make our economy stronger," he told reporters on the conference's sidelines.
"Global conflicts are having an ongoing impact on the global economy. That's something that every single leader here would recognise ... we'll continue to work each and every day to keep our economy stronger."
Opposition treasury spokesman Tim Wilson said Labor could not point the finger squarely overseas for inflation.
"Underlying inflation lifted above the RBA's target band in July of last year - seven months before a single bomb was dropped on Tehran," he told ABC on Tuesday.
Mr Wilson is under pressure himself to flesh out $31 billion in spending cuts the coalition has promised if elected, rejecting assertions they would come from tent-pole programs like Medicare, pensions and defence.
"Our focus is on making sure we get rid of bureaucracies that don't build homes, bureaucracies that don't cut emissions, welfare for future non-citizens," he said.
There is some consolation from economists at Commonwealth Bank, who after slashing their forecasts for economic growth expect the Melbourne Cup Day rate rise to be the RBA's last this cycle.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver doesn't expect rates to come down until the December quarter 2027.
"Absent a crisis, rate relief is a long way off," he said in a client note.
Because of Australia's weak productivity growth, the RBA had no choice but to throw the economy into a hard landing or even a recession to bring inflation to heel, said HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham.
"Reluctantly, but necessarily, the RBA is likely to deliver a fifth hike this week - driving the economy into more of an economic downswing," Mr Bloxham said.
Australian Associated Press
