But Scott Morrison did not commit to extending temporary relief, saying the global instability driving higher prices "won't go on forever".

Speaking in Cairns on Thursday morning after inflation spiked to its highest level since 2000, Mr Morrison conceded cost-of-living pressures were being keenly felt by Australian households.

But he insisted short-term measures announced in the March budget - including a temporary cut to the fuel excise, and one-off $250 payments - had spared Australians from the worst of global economic turbulence.

"We understand the increasing pressures there are on families and Australians right around the country on cost of living. It's real. We know it's real," he said.

"And that's why in this year's budget, we took action. And we could take action to provide a shield for Australians against these rising costs of living."

It was revealed on Wednesday inflation had spiked to 5.1 per cent over the past year, a 2.1 per cent jump in three months and higher than anticipated by the Reserve Bank and the March budget.

The RBA was expected to raise interest rates during an election campaign for the first time since 2007, for which then-prime minister John Howard apologised.

Mr Morrison did not answer directly when asked whether he would apologise for any rate hike, saying war in Ukraine had added to the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, which were being exacerbated by ongoing lockdowns in China.

He did not commit to extending the fuel excise cut beyond its scheduled end date in September, saying Treasury had tipped oil prices to drop in the second half of 2022.

"What you do is make wise investments, you make strategic interventions to ensure you can limit the impact of things that are well beyond your control. Those things won't go on forever," he said.

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The Coalition has leant heavily on claims it was the superior economic manager, warning a shift to Labor on May 21 would undermine Australia's recovery from COVID-19.

But Australians were in the grip of cost-of-living pressures, with inflation now rising at more than double the pace of wages.

"I understand that Australians feel frustrated about many things. I share those frustrations. But the way to respond to that is not to create further chaos and uncertainty, but to actually lock in further security and certainty," Mr Morrison said

Labor shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers described the spike, taking inflation to its highest point since the introduction of the GST, as a "wake-up call" for the government.

"This is Scott Morrison's triple whammy of skyrocketing cost of living, rising interest rates and falling real wages. And that's what the number was all about today," he said on Wednesday.

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