Australia’s remote communities are paying twice as much for grocery staples than shoppers in capital cities.
Researchers from consumer advocacy group CHOICE visited First Nations communities in Western Australia and the Northern Territory and purchased a list of nine basic items, including essentials such as milk, pasta, and flour.
“Our mystery shop revealed that people living in the four remote First Nations communities we looked at are paying more than twice as much for their groceries than people living in capital cities,” CHOICE investigative journalist Jarni Blakkarly said.
“The basket of nine items, all of which can be considered essentials, cost $44.70 when averaged out across Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and IGA across all capital cities. The average price of the basket in the four remote communities was more than double that, coming in at $99.38,” Mr Blakkarly.
He said the highest price CHOICE found was in the West Daly area in the NT, where the basket of nine items cost $110.82.
“The price differences between identical items in remote communities and capital cities is pretty astounding.
“In capital cities, for example, you’ll pay on average $4.87 for a kilo of apples. At the store we visited on the Tiwi Islands, people are paying $7.50 a kilo. At the West Daly store, apples will set you back $9.10 per kilo.”
Mr Blakkarly said the availability of food was also a big issue faced by people living in remote communities.
“At one store visited by our mystery shopper there was no bread to be found, and our shopper had to make do with frozen hot dog buns.”
The items in the grocery basket were:
- Apples.
- Carrots.
- Weet-Bix.
- Flour.
- Penne pasta.
- Tea bags.
- Block of tasty cheese.
- Full-cream dairy milk.
- Beef mince
