I would now like to return to the battle against inflation. In the December quarter, the headline inflation rate reached 7.8 per cent (Graph 3). This is the highest rate in more than three decades.
Graph 3  Consumer Price Inflation* Year-ended %  %  15  15  10  10  5  5  0  0  -5  1970  1983  1996  2009  -5 2022  *  Excludes interest charges prior to the September quarter of 1998; adjusted for the tax changes of 1999–2000.