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The Chains That Bind Us

A man chained to giant 'Cost of living' weights receives an increased electricity bill. He says 'Oh. Joy.' A bluebird sits on one of the chains.

A little bluebird of happiness watches Chris Downes’s unfortunate ‘everyman’, who has just received yet another bill to add to his collection of heavy cost-of-living balls and chains. Downes created this cartoon after the Tasmanian Economic Regulator approved a 9.5 per cent increase in the state’s electricity prices, effective from 1 July.