Holiday over as Anthony Albanese recalls his MPs for urgent talks to curb inflation and cost-of-living pressures

The government has been facing pressure to address the heightened cost of groceries. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called Labor MPs back to Canberra nearly two weeks early to discuss the cost-of-living crisis facing Australian households.

Labor’s caucus will meet in the capital on Wednesday and assess ways to ease the pressure on household budgets, without adding to inflation.

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth called Wednesday’s meeting “routine,” but said there would be a key focus on tackling inflation.

“As the prime minister has said, we are always looking at how we better support Australians, particularly with cost-of-living relief, but at the same time, not adding to our inflation challenge,” Ms Rishworth said on Saturday.

“We need to see inflation coming down.”

While Treasury has been asked to provide advice on ways to relieve the cost of living for Australians, without further adding to inflation, it was not clear what exact measures would be discussed by the party.

Economist Chris Richardson said energy relief, through an extension of the rebates that are set to end mid-year, would be the most obvious form of help.

“The complication is, though, in a cost-of-living crisis, when you make stuff cheaper for people, that means they can spend more, and they do, and that adds in inflation,” Mr Richardson said.

“If for example, those energy rebates get extended, that makes energy cheaper than it would have been, but tends to make everything else a bit more expensive.”

But he said the rebate had helped to reduce power bills for Australians, and extending it was an “understandable” move.

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the government had taken too long to act and called on the prime minister to reduce government spending as a means to tame inflation.

“I fear they’ll continue to deal with the symptoms, and I fear that will be putting a bandaid on a bullet wound, when we needed a government that was dealing with the source of the problem over a year ago,” he said.

“I’ll tell you what the greatest relief of all is: lower inflation.

“The government needs to manage its spending.”

As well as easing energy bills, the government has also been facing pressure to address the heightened cost of groceries.

Major supermarkets Coles and Woolworths have come under scrutiny for recording large profits amid claims of price gouging.

Mr Albanese earlier this month said supermarkets had a “duty” to ensure they were passing on cheaper prices of meat and fruit and vegetables to consumers, as the government continues its review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.

Ms Rishworth said the government was taking supermarket prices “very seriously.”

“Consumers should be getting a fair price at the check-out and suppliers should be getting a fair price for the goods that they’re supplying,” she said.

ABC