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Scott Morrison has conceded prices are rising on everyday items, but stressed that's due to external factors.

As Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese emerged from COVID-19 isolation on Friday, the campaign trail focus returned to the rising cost of living.

The prime minister said increasing inflation levels and stress on household budgets were because of factors overseas and outside government control.

"The external influences on the economy are going to continue for some time, particularly when we see the disruption of the war in Europe and the disruption which comes from the pandemic," he told reporters in Tasmania on Friday.

"You can't necessarily change the price of a lettuce, but what you can do is you can halve the petrol tax, and that's exactly what we did."

Australia's Inflation rate has risen to 5.1 per cent, the highest level in two decades, which has prompted speculation the Reserve Bank will lift interest rates for the first time in 12 years when it next meets on Tuesday.

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said the coalition was ignoring cost of living pressures.

"(The government) want to talk about international comparisons, Australians couldn't give a stuff what inflation is in the United States," Dr Chalmers told reporters in the Sydney electorate of Reid.

"Australians know that what really matters here is that it's harder and harder for them to keep up, and almost impossible to get ahead."

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg defended the government's handling of the economy, but denied he was seeking to suggest the Reserve Bank hold off on raising interest rates until key wage figures come out later in May.

"I'm not saying that I will pre-empt in any way a decision of an independent board, namely of the Reserve Bank," he told ABC Radio.

"That is a decision for them, or them not to take at their upcoming meeting."

The treasurer said there was no silver bullet for many of the issues facing the Australian economy, such as workforce shortages, but the country's finances were tracking well.

Concerns on cost of living pressures have also extended to power prices, with new figures showing wholesale power prices rising by 141 per cent in the first three months of this year compared to the same time period in 2021.

As the prime minister announced a $70 million hydrogen hub in Tasmania, Mr Morrison dismissed calls that power prices would be better protected if there were more renewables in the energy mix.

"We have made a very fast transition, we have had record investments and increases in the capacity of renewable technologies and renewable energies. That hasn't been the issue," he said.

"The issue is ensuring that we keep pace with reliable, affordable baseload power that deals with the problem, with the 'intermittentness' of much of our renewable energy generation."

Dr Chalmers pledged Labor would bring down power prices by 2025 should it win office.

Mr Albanese spent his first day out of isolation in Sydney, before flying to Western Australia ahead of Labor's campaign launch in Perth on Sunday.

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James Corden will bow out of his late-night US TV show next year, calling it a "good time to move on and see what else might be out there".

The British comedian announced his decision during the taping of Thursday's The Late Late Show, which he began hosting in 2015.

Corden, who didn't offer details on what course his career might take next, said the late-night show "has changed my life. ... I am so proud of what we've achieved. It's been beyond my wildest, wildest dreams."

He would remain with the CBS show for another year, he said, promising it would "go out with a bang", and with "so many tears".

CBS boss George Cheeks lauded Corden for taking "huge creative and comedic swings", including the Carpool Karaoke videos in which Corden and pop stars including Adele and Paul McCartney performed sing-alongs on the road.

The network had no comment on who might replace Corden.

Corden was considered an unlikely pick when he was named host of The Late Late Show. He had starred in the British sitcom Gavin & Stacey and was a Tony Award winner in 2012 for his Broadway performance in One Man, Two Guvnors, but wasn't widely known by US viewers.

Carpool Karaoke and other comedy segments including Crosswalk the Musical proved popular online, building Corden and the show's reach beyond its broadcast home.

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Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has defended the government's handling of the economy, as Anthony Albanese will keep the rising cost of living in the spotlight on his first day out of COVID-19 isolation.

The opposition leader will fly to Perth on Friday to resume in-person campaigning, ahead of Labor's campaign launch on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will start the day in marginal electorates in Tasmania.

In the wake of inflation rising to 5.1 per cent this week, the highest levels for two decades, Mr Frydenberg said the national economy was still going strong.

"The Australian economy has seen a remarkably strong recovery and the key indicator of that has been an unemployment rate of four per cent," he told ABC Radio on Friday.

"(Higher inflation) has been driven by international factors and that's the cold-hard reality of the situation that we face."

The cost of living has also come into a renewed focus, with the Australian Energy Market Operator saying wholesale power prices rose by 141 per cent in the first three months of this year compared to the previous year.

Rising inflation levels have led to increased speculation the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates for the first time since 2010 when it meets on Tuesday.

But Mr Frydenberg has denied he suggested the Reserve Bank should hold off making a rate rise until key wages figures were released later in May.

"I'm not saying that I will pre-empt in any way a decision of an independent board, namely of the Reserve Bank," he said.

"That is a decision for them, or them not to take at their upcoming meeting."

The treasurer said there was no silver bullet on other issues in the economy such as workforce shortages.

Meanwhile, Mr Albanese has emerged from COVID isolation on Friday after a week on the sidelines of the election campaign.

While he is expected to take it easy in the first few days after his week-long stint off the campaign trail, he will spend time in key Western Australian seats.

"Out of iso and back at it," Mr Albanese said on Twitter on Friday morning.

Labor deputy leader Richard Marles welcomed Mr Albanese's return to the campaign.

"We certainly missed having our leader on the field, we are really looking forward to Albo getting back on the park," he told the Nine Network.

"He's been beaten around a little bit by the virus, he is very chipper and he's really raring to get back into it."

© AAP 2022