PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has, for the first time, acknowledged that Australian household budgets will have another two years of battering from the global financial spin-out.
And he says there will be "bumps and pain" along the way and higher unemployment.
"People ask how long," Mr Rudd told The Daily Telegraph.
"I think it's fair to say we're not looking at a challenge over a couple of months. We're looking at a challenge over a couple of years.
"And this will be tough."
By that forecast the Government will go into the next election in late 2010 with the economy still recovering, or possibly still in a deep slump.
Mr Rudd said there was a series of global disruptions that would lead directly to strained household budgets in the "real economy".
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