IPA Fellow says Australian economic decline is self-inflicted

Colleen Harkin, an Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) research fellow, said Australia's declining living standards are the result of government policy decisions.

The assessment suggests that the current economic hardship is not an inevitable consequence of global trends, but a direct outcome of domestic governance. This distinction shifts the responsibility for inflation and cost-of-living pressures from international markets to national policymakers.

Harkin addressed the economic situation in a recent interview with Sky News Australia. She said the current financial climate is an extraordinary burden on the population, noting that the decline in living standards is a tangible experience for many citizens.

"We can feel that our standard of living is decreasing, the cost of living is an extraordinary burden on people," Harkin said.

According to Harkin, the factors contributing to this decline are not unavoidable. She said that the government's choices have created the current environment, suggesting that the nation is paying a price for these specific administrative and legislative directions.

"We don’t have to be here; this is all self‑inflicted," Harkin said.

The IPA research fellow's comments highlight a growing debate over whether Australia's economic trajectory is tied to global volatility or internal mismanagement. By framing the crisis as self-inflicted, Harkin suggests that the solution lies in reversing specific government policies rather than waiting for global economic conditions to improve.