The pandemic changed a lot of things in Australia – and around the world – for better and worse. Two legacies that stand out to me from an economist’s perspective are an increased expectation on how governments should support us during troubled times, as well as an increased focus on domestic economic security, both with consequences for inflation and interest rates.

The shortage of protective equipment, rapid tests and toilet paper during the early pandemic will not be forgotten easily, and the recent jump in fuel prices, and especially images of some pumps running dry, brought back some of those painful memories.

Cost-of-living pressures – not just from the fuel crisis – remain, unsurprisingly, the number one concern of households. Businesses, too, are weary of supply chain disruptions and sticky inflation. Over the past five years, the only time headline inflation has dipped into the Reserve Bank’s target zone (of 2% to 3%) has been when governments have provided temporary support for energy prices, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, more recently, fuel prices.

In May and June this year, in response to the fuel crisis, the Australian Bureau of Statistics brought back a survey of business conditions and sentiment. This survey was introduced early in the Covid........

© The Guardian