The high cost of heating will hurt Australia already struggling financially.

If you put up the heater  in spring you get slammed  with a huge bill,  because the cost of heating has far exceed inflation. If you're a single parent, you probably won't be able to pay the bill There are so many financial desperation,  the stress could drive you to gambling, drink or drugs - with highly predictable, bad outcomes. Thousands of  Australians living on the edge of financial desperation.  Single parents forced onto the lower-paying Newstart Allowance. Compared with last year's survey, there was a 12 per cent increase in people on Newstart seeking help from the organisation.

People seeking help, often going without meals so they could feed their children. The struggle to pay bills was also underlined, with delaying payment of utility bills, and about a third delaying rent or mortgage payments.

People gamble to have a quick fix to their financial situation.

and they cause themselves to go into greater debt.

People use alcohol and drugs to self-medicate, to help their issues go away, to try to mask the real problems.

The biggest challenges here for us in Sydney is heating costs for our homes.

People put their heaters on and a couple of months down the track they get their utilities bill and normally they are quite excessive - for some people that can start the spiral into debt and many don't pay on time.

Utility costs have increased over the last few years and they continue to rise.

Working couples with children are battling to keep a roof over their heads.

Despite both of them being employed, they're still not breaking even within their family budget, so increasingly they are having to pick up second jobs or pawn items or use money lenders to satisfy the needs of their children, whether it is putting food on their plates or school uniforms. There are more people unemployed. Rents have increased  over the past five years and

people are moving from one rental property to another.

Bonds are high , going from poor to slightly poorer, so they find themselves caught in this poverty trap.

Sydney's rents are amongst the highest in Australia. On average a unit will set you back $500 a week

Increases in the cost of housing have  impact on people with the lowest incomes.

People on the brink, struggling with their finances can develop addictions - gambling, alcohol, drugs.

Debts incurred on mobile phones are a significant

For people on low incomes, if their circumstances change, the insurance that goes first is the health insurance, then they get rid of their comprehensive car insurance, then they drop their home contents insurance.

So a very small event in their life actually ends up

Fundamental costs like housing, healthcare and utilities, have gone way above the CPI

Inflation has gone up about 15 per cent over the last decade but things like housing, healthcare and utilities have gone up more like 40 per cent.

People pawning their valuables and

there are delaying payment of bills and more stress on relationships.

There's constant tension of living on the edge of poverty and the risk of falling off the cliff.

Then there's tiredness - and more stress - if they have to get a second job if they are lucky to pay the rent.

People  delay paying their  electricity bill to buy food.

Employers are struggling to pass on the cost burden of the carbon tax amid a 14.5 per cent rise in their energy bills in the opening months of Labor's climate scheme, with food manufacturers the hardest hit.

Food producers have seen some of the biggest cost hikes since the carbon regime began last June, in another sign of the pressure on local manufacturers as the government prepares an industry statement aimed at boosting jobs.

While 90 per cent of food manufacturers report a cost increase from the carbon tax, only 11 per cent are passing the impact on to consumers, according to a nationwide survey by the Australian Industry Group.

Clothing and footwear manufacturers are reeling from similar pressures as 57 per cent report an increase in their energy costs but only 33 per cent pass them on.

Businesses face strong barriers to passing on costs arising from the carbon tax to their customers.

Businesses "don't have much pricing power" to pass on the higher costs.

Businesses reignited political debates

One-third of manufacturing and construction firms and about half of all services firms were unable to estimate the direct impact of the carbon tax on their energy bills. However, AI Group found an average energy bill increase of 14.5 per cent across the sectors.

The nation's biggest manufacturing firms have also called on the Federal Government to scrap the climate-change scheme, saying it will "disadvantage" local companies seeking to compete on world markets.

The Government also defended the impact of the carbon tax on manufacturing and other business, following a News Limited article that reported it was contributing to a record number of firms going to the wall.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission data showed 10,632 businesses went into voluntary administration for the 12 months to December 31 2012, a record high for a calendar year and an increase on 10,481 for 2011.

For example The carbon tax had added around $500,000 to the annual costs of its glass factory in Sydney, which closed  with the loss of 150 jobs.

Australia's carbon tax places tremendous pressure on Australian manufacturers and inevitably leads to job losses and business closures.