Treasurer Joe Hockey says the latest inflation data is above expectations, making special note of the big hike in electricity and petrol prices.
The consumer price index, the key measure of inflation, rose 1.2 per cent in the September quarter, for an annual rate of 2.2 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
Mr Hockey blamed Labor's carbon tax, introduced in July 2012, for prices being higher "than they should be".
The treasurer implored Labor to provide cost-of-living relief by supporting the coalition government's plan to repeal the carbon tax when parliament sits in November.
"I cannot understand know why the Labor party would stand in the way of a tax cut for everyday Australians," the treasurer told reporters in Canberra.
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The government believes repeal of the carbon tax will result in a reduction in the cost of electricity which increased 4.4 per in the September quarter.
Since the tax was introduced, electricity prices had risen 22 per cent, Mr Hockey said, adding they had doubled since Labor came to government in 2007.
There also was a significant increase (7.6 per cent) in petrol prices.
Abolishing the carbon tax would save households $550 a year on average, Mr Hockey said.
