Unbelievable price for a handful of groceries exposes cost-of-living shame

Apples, carrots, cereals, flour, pasta, tea bags, cheese, milk and mince may seem like a simple shopping list of essential groceries.

But in some remote communities, these nine basic items cost a total of more than $100.

Consumer organization Choice ran a mystery shop in four remote neighborhood supermarkets in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

The WA stores were in the Great Sandy Desert and Pilbara regions, while the Northern Territory stores were in the West Daly area and the Tiwi Islands.

Choice found that the average price of a basket of ten groceries in these remote communities was $99.38 – more than double the cost of the same items in capital cities, where they averaged $44.70.

The highest price for the items was in the West Daly region of NT, where the basket cost $110.82.

“If you’re on a low wage or Centrelink payment, with a high cost of living, you’re making a choice between which meals you don’t get,” said financial adviser Bettina Cooper of Mob Strong Debt Help.

“You have no choice to shop anywhere else.”

Choice journalist Jarni Blakkarly said the research shows food insecurity and high prices are major issues in remote communities across the country.

“The price differences between identical items in remote communities and capital cities are quite astonishing,” he said.

‘In capital cities, for example, you pay an average of $4.87 for a kilo of apples.

‘In the shop we visited on the Tiwi Islands, people pay $7.50 per kilo. At the West Daly store, apples cost $9.10 per kilo.”

Tiwi Island resident Rosie told Choice she sometimes had to ask family or friends for help with groceries.

“I didn’t know it was that much to support a small family,” she said.

‘You want to be independent, but that is not possible because the prices in the shops are very high.’

Ms Cooper, a Boandik woman, said she had visited remote communities where prices were not listed on some items – mostly fresh fruit and vegetables.

Consumer organization Choice conducted a mystery shop in four remote convenience stores in Western Australia and the Northern Territory (stock image)

“You’re not going to choose healthy options if you don’t know what it’s going to cost you,” she said.

‘We want people with a healthy diet and lower blood pressure, less diabetes and fewer problems. Give them the tools to achieve that goal, not double the costs.”

Ms Cooper said governments can help reduce pressure on remote communities by reducing freight transport and monitoring remote food prices.

“We’re not increasing Centrelink payments, wages aren’t going up with the cost of living, there’s no option to shop around – then we should have price caps on basic necessities,” she said.

“If we are serious about closing the gap and serious about giving my First Nations brothers and sisters a fair chance, then we must ensure we put people before profits.”