Ryan Bridge: Australia's economy is a warning of what's to come

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Feb 3, 2026 · 2m · transcript

The inflation thief might be gone but it lurks in the corner and if you’re not careful, it happily leaps out and steals your wages.

Last week we spoke about the fact their inflation’s running hot - almost 4%.

They’re now world leaders, with the highest rate in the developed world. More than the UK, US, Germany, Japan, Canada, Spain, and France.

Not something Albo or anyone in Canberra should be proud of.

So yesterday the Reserve Bank of Australia did what central banks do when things are getting too spicy - they hike rates.

They’ve just done a quarter of a percent. They’re likely to do…