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The woman who used the identity of a pilot killed in the Sea World helicopter tragedy to dodge a traffic ticket has been heckled outside court.

Stephanie Louise Bennett, 33, pleaded guilty to using dead pilot Ash Jenkinson's identity after she was caught using her mobile phone behind the wheel on December 15.

Bennett was trying to avoid the mandatory $1078 fine and when she went online to claim she was not at fault.

Instead, Bennett used information from the death notice of Sea World pilot Ash Jenkinson, who died on January 2 in a helicopter collision, to claim he committed the offence.

Bennett earlier told the court that she was going through "personal matters" and "financial troubles" at the time, and had attempted to undo the alleged fraudulent nomination the next day.

"The following day I remembered what I did and tried to undo it by attempting to nominate myself but the website didn't accept it," she told the court earlier this month.

Bennett pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Wednesday to fraud by dishonestly inducing a person to act and one count of obtaining or dealing with another's identity for the purpose of committing an indictable offence.

Magistrate Terry Duroux rejected an immediate move to a sentence, adjourning the case to May 19.

"The court does not operate in a vacuum. I'm well aware of why we are here. I am putting you on notice - I believe there are authorities that I should be referred to."

Mr Duroux said he did not believe the 15 minutes allotted for a plea hearing on Wednesday was adequate.

"In my view, this is a lengthy plea and not appropriate for this court. There are two fraud-type charges before the court and the maximum penalty I believe is around five years."

Bennett disguised her identity with a scarf but was still taunted as she left the courthouse.

"You're disgusting, show your face. Why didn't you just take the fine? You should be ashamed," bystanders yelled.

The matter is expected to be finalised next month.

© AAP 2023

The consumer mood remains downcast as the full force of interest rate hikes and cost-of-living pressures pummel households.

The Reserve Bank has hiked interest rates by 350 basis points since May last year in response to elevated inflation but opted to pause in April, with the board recognising that interest rates movements hit with a lag.

Despite opting to keep rates on hold, ANZ and Roy Morgan's weekly consumer confidence gauge has been stuck in negative territory and returned another below-80 reading last week.

That marks the eighth week straight of readings less than 80, which is well below the long-run monthly average of 111.4.

"This streak represents more weeks of confidence being below 80 than over the whole of 2020-22, revealing the effects of ongoing inflation and the adjustment to restrictive monetary policy," ANZ senior economist Adelaide Timbrell said.

The index did improve a modest 0.8 points to 78, with a decent jump recorded for "time to buy a major household item", up 5.6 points, and modest improvements in financial confidence.

Fresh inflation data, due on Wednesday, will reveal how much pressure households have been under from rising prices.

Economists expect to see inflation coming off its peak but remaining high.

A Reuters poll forecast a 1.3 per cent lift in headline inflation in the March quarter, down from a 1.9 per cent lift in the final three months of 2022.

But while economists foresee a sharp drop in headline inflation in the quarterly consumer price index, even a generous decline may not be enough to steer the central bank away from a May interest rate hike.

Data on salaries offered to new recruits also suggests attracting workers remains competitive.

SEEK's advertised salary index lifted 0.4 per cent month-on-month, up from 0.3 per cent monthly growth in February.

Senior economist at the jobs marketplace, Matt Cowgill, said it was clear the labour market was still running hot.

"There were signs that advertised salary growth was starting to cool, but things have turned around," he said.

"This strong demand for labour is keeping advertised salary growth up, with advertised salaries up 4.7 per cent over the year to March."

© AAP 2023

Pharmacy peak bodies have warned changes to prescription prices in the upcoming federal budget will lead to more medicine shortages.

The government plans to allow people to buy two months' worth of subsidised medicines on a single prescription, rather than two separate prescriptions.

This means about six million Australians will pay less for their medicines, while also reducing the time they spend traipsing between their doctor's office and the pharmacy.

However, Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Trent Twomey said the changes could lead to further medicine shortages for patients.

"I'm all for cost-of-living relief and a cost-of-living measure, but this, unfortunately, is just smoke and mirrors," he told ABC TV on Wednesday.

"If you don't have the medicine in stock, how do you give double nothing? Double nothing is still nothing."

Mr Twomey said there were more than 470 medicines in the country that already had critical shortages or were completely unavailable.

The government said the changes, due to kick in on September 1, will deliver savings with patients needing fewer visits to the GP to get prescriptions.

Hundreds of common medicines will become cheaper to access under the policy, which is largely aimed at those with chronic conditions who spend a lot on medication.

People could save up to $180 a year, if their medicine can be prescribed for 60 days rather than 30, or more if their other medicines qualify for the extended dispensing change.

The more than 320 medicines on the list are for conditions such as heart disease, cholesterol, Crohn's disease and hypertension.

Mr Twomey said 40 per cent of the medications on the list were experiencing shortages.

"The government needs to stop worrying about a glossy announcement this morning about a pre-budget promise about how we're going to help with the cost of living," he said.

"It needs to get the basics right first, which is making sure that everyone can get at least one box."

Health Minister Mark Butler said the cost-of-living measure would address the issue of Australians delaying or going without medicines they need.

"Every year, nearly a million Australians are forced to delay or go without a medicine that their doctor has told them is necessary for their health," he said.

"This cheaper medicines policy is safe, good for Australians' hip pockets and most importantly good for their health."

Doctors will still be able to choose to write a prescription for a one-month supply for patients, rather than two.

Australian Medical Association vice-president Danielle McMullen welcomed the changes to prescriptions.

"At the time we're talking about so many cost-of-living pressures, this will really ease the burden on patients across Australia," she told Seven's Sunrise program.

"There are some situations of shortages in medicines at the moment but there will be a staged approach to this announcement to ease the burden on the shortages."

Meanwhile, just weeks out from the Albanese government's second budget, the opposition's Angus Taylor has called on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to lay down a path to bring the budget back to surplus.

The government should bank an expected commodity and income tax windfall and use it to lower the deficit, Mr Taylor said.

"If the government can't deliver a strong surplus with the current strong commodity prices and the strong economy left to it by the coalition, when will it ever deliver a surplus?"

Dr Chalmers has committed to absorbing most of the revenue bump from high commodity prices, but not to delivering a surplus.

© AAP 2023