‘Things like mortgage payments and electricity bills, it’s really crushing people,’ one business owner in Sydney said.
“I think it’s time to pay attention to our survival,” Vivian Kong, a coffee and ice cream shop owner in Sydney, told The Epoch Times.
“Rent is so high, electricity bills are high, and the cost of living has skyrocketed—it’s three to four times higher than it was over a decade ago, but our income hasn’t even doubled.
“Just look around: so many shops have closed down, and so many spaces are sitting empty.”
Kong’s shop is located in Epping, a suburb in northern Sydney that is home to a large population of residents with Chinese ancestry.
In the recent federal election, electorates with large Chinese-Australian populations consistently swung toward the centre-left Labor Party.
In Bennelong, which borders Kong’s area, Labor candidate Jerome Laxale won the seat with a 7.9 percent two-party-preferred swing away from Liberal candidate Scott Yung, who is of Chinese descent.
Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media at a doorstop during Lunar New Year celebrations at Eastwood Plaza along with MP Jerome Laxale (R) and NSW Premier Chris Minns (L) in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 4, 2023. AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi
Similar trends were mirrored across the country with Labor benefitting from swings in Melbourne’s Menzies, Aston, and Chisholm; Sydney’s Reid and Banks; Brisbane’s Moreton; Perth’s Tangney; and Adelaide’s Sturt.
Inflation, Labor Costs: Business Owners
Kong says because so many shops are shutting down, suppliers are now reluctant to offer credit, or time, to pay for goods or services after delivery.
“So it’s even tougher for us—every order has to be paid for upfront, which creates even bigger problems,” said Kong. Small businesses often live and die based on available cash reserves.
“If the government could provide small businesses with some loans or support—like working capital assistance—it would make a big difference.”
Henry Zhao, a permanent resident and food and beverage business owner, echoes Kong’s concerns about the cost of running business.
“The prices have increased drastically, and the cost of services in various areas has also risen,” he told The Epoch Times.
“For our industry, the labour costs are also rising. As the prices go up, wages have to increase as well. Therefore, for us, labour costs have become even higher.”
Power costs are another issue, according to Energy Consumers Australia, with businesses that use about 20,000 kWh per year seeing electricity prices shoot up by 8 percent.
An aerial view of the Bungala Solar Farm in Port Augusta, South Australia, on Feb. 25, 2025. Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
Medicare, Housing: Older Migrant
Huang Ming, now half-retired in his senior years, pays more attention to healthcare.
“Take the GP (general practitioners) fees for example—although there was a promise made, nothing has materialised. You still have to pay $20 for each consultation,” he told The Epoch Times.
In February, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced an additional $8.5 billion for the universal healthcare cover Medicare aimed at making 9 out of 10 GP visits free by 2030.
In 2023, the Labor government had already promised $5.7 billion to triple bulk-billing to incentivise more patient visits.
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In this photo illustration, an Australian Medicare card is displayed with prescription medicines in Sydney, Australia on March 25, 2025. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
Another thing Huang cares about is housing—renting and buying a home.
“We’re not even expecting prices to drop, but can the government at least control the rate of price increases? Especially in places like Burwood, where prices have gone up so much,” he said.
As of April, the median house price in Burwood, one of the biggest Chinese communities in New South Wales (and home to a large student population), is approximately $3.21 million (US$2.07 million), marking a 12.6 percent increase over the past 12 months.
“These are really just the basics of people’s livelihoods, right?” Huang said.
Concern About Managing the Economy: Salon Owner
Wendy Xu, a beauty salon owner in Sydney’s Hurstville, is concerned about an economic downturn.
“Our beauty business has slowed down a lot because people are facing high costs and expenses, so they are cutting back on their spending. Customers are fewer now,” she said.
“Things like mortgage payments and electricity bills, it’s really crushing people. Especially last year and the year before, when interest rates went up wave after wave, it was just too much for people to handle.”
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) began a series of interest rate increases in May 2022 in response to historically low interest rates during the pandemic and for many years before
The RBA’s increases culminated at a 4.35 percent peak in November 2023—the highest level since December 2011.
In response to easing inflationary pressures, the RBA has recently cut the cash rate to 3.85 percent, marking its second cut in 2025.
Despite these reductions, mortgage rates remain elevated compared to pre-2022 levels, continuing to exert financial pressure on borrowers.
Xu hopes the government can step up.
“After the pandemic, each of us is under a lot of pressure, physically and financially. And now, with our health, we need to pay more attention to self-care,” she said.
“If people are unwell, they still have to buy health supplements … So it’s not just the financial pressure of daily life, but also the pressure of maintaining our health.”
Concern for Seniors Moving to Retirement Villages
Solomon Zhang, a permanent resident and aged care worker with a Certificate IV in Ageing Support, called for the government to address issues related to retirement villages.
“All retirement villages in Australia are just opportunities for real estate investment companies to make money,” he told The Epoch Times.
Zhang noted the difference between purchasing a unit in a village and regular home ownership.
Purchasing a unit in a retirement village can often result in a financial loss upon exit, he explained. For instance, a $1,000,000 unit might return only $650,000 to $700,000 after 5 to 10 years, primarily due to exit fees and depreciation.
“They don’t explain these exit terms clearly when they’re selling it to you, especially to the elderly … Many elderly people feel they’ve been scammed because the services provided are very limited…They often don’t disclose the full details, like refunds or other issues.”
Zhang called for an overhaul of the pricing structure, particularly to deal with management fees.
“If the government could step in a little—say, by organising some volunteers to help clean up the surroundings, or providing some financial subsidies to improve the public entertainment areas—it could make a big difference,” he said.
Australia-China Relations
Aside from life down under, there are also concerns about the new government’s relationship with Beijing.
“I hope the Labor government understands that within the Chinese community, there are many people who do not want Australia to be influenced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” said Lin Bin, a Hong Kong-born political analyst with a PhD in political science from the University of NSW.
“A very simple example is that many Chinese immigrants came to Australia precisely because they did not want to live under the CCP’s authoritarian rule. They came here hoping to live a life of freedom and democracy.”
Protesters hold placards demanding the release of Australian writer Yang Hengjun in Canberra, Australia, on March 20, 2024. David Gray/AFP via Getty Images
As a former candidate for the Hong Kong Parliament, Lin is also hoping to see more changes to allow Hong Kongers to stay.
In November 2021, in response to Beijing’s “drastic” National Security Law over Hong Kong, the former Morrison government announced new visa pathways for Hong Kong nationals—pathways the Albanese government has maintained.
“I hope the Australian Labor government will stand more firmly in protecting the national interest of Australia and not be too soft in dealing with the CCP,” Lin said.
“Many of us hope that Australia remains an independent, free, and democratic nation. We hope the Australian government can give Chinese Australians a sense of security and resist CCP infiltration.”
