Albanese talked up cheaper coffee, but Chalmers has to swallow his pride

October 9, 2026 — 11:55am

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.

No gift articles left

You've used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.

“From tomorrow, your morning coffee could be cheaper”.

As if, prime minister.

It was the Reserve Bank that announced back in March that it would ban credit and debit card surcharges from October this year.

But it was the government that took the credit, with MPs hailing the move as a win for consumers. On social feeds from Albanese to the local backbencher, they said this would save consumers about $1.6 billion a year, and the price people paid for a meal, a coffee or their rent would be the same regardless of whether they paid by card or with cash.

Somehow, they missed the warnings earlier this year that cafes, shops and bars were likely to hike their prices to recover the money lost now they could not pass on transaction fees.

Chalmers steps in: ATO credit card ban delayed after business uproar

So when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted on his social media........

© WA Today