A new year starts, a fresh page, but the story written on it is frustratingly the same. We are trapped in an economic cycle that seems to have no end: inflation, inflation and more inflation. The latest CPI figures are out and they are reminiscent of 2024, or indeed 2021. Prices are up by 3.8% over the year to December, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. That is outside the target range of 2-3% inflation set by the Reserve Bank.