10.5 Prices [1993]
Description
This article is from the soc.culture.australian FAQ, by Stephen Wales with numerous contributions by others.
10.5 Prices [1993]
These are averages, and there are significant variations.
1 litre of Milk $1
1 loaf of bread $1.25
1 kilo of minced [Ground] Beef $5
1 pair of Levis' 501s $70
1 one trip intracity bus ticket $2
1 monthly bus pass $60
the daily paper $0.60
the cheapest brand new Toyota Corolla $17000
1 five year old smaller Japanese car
with 80000 KM on it $7000
1 museum pass $6
one month's rent on a 2 bedroom apartment:
VERY location-dependent, ranging from $300 to $1500, average ~= $800.
Assuming petrol is at 72c/l, and an exchange rate of US$ -> AUS$ of
$0.66, this puts a petrol cost of $1.72/gallon. (that is US$ and US
gallons). [IS]
[JM] Last week [Sept 93] a newspaper article appeared describing a
survey of the cost of living in a number of countries. It appeared to
be aimed at companies trying to establish a suitable living allowance
for their employees when posted overseas. The survey indicates that
Australia is the cheapest of a sample of ten countries. I have
reproduced the results published below:
Mar 92 Mar 93
====== ======
Japan 234.60 271.70
Russia 170.10 189.90
Sweden 199.30 167.10
China 140.10 150.30
Germany 138.00 146.40
Singapore 129.10 138.30
Hong Kong 127.50 136.00
USA 107.70 114.70
UK 122.90 110.10
Australia 100.00 100.00
(I suspect the figures have been normalised to show Australia at $100
in each case. This removes the effects of inflation in Australia -
which is low anyway - and currency fluctuations of the Australian
dollar against the others.)
The survey is based on a basket of goods including food, stamps,
laundry, cinema tickets, hair styling, clothing, electrical goods,
restaurant meals and drinks at a bar. It excludes mortgages and cars.
I don't know if it includes rent, but it is possible to rent 3 bedroom
houses in the Melbourne suburbs for about $150/week. (In relatively
good, but not expensive or inner suburban areas. However, it depends
on what you are looking for, a "quality executive" style home will
cost you considerably more.)
The survey was prepared by Employment Conditions Abroad. The local
spokesman is a Dr. Peter Rogers of Pacific Personnel. (Phone 03 - 329
8352, fax 03 - 328 3489) I suspect they are a consulting company and
the full report will cost you a fair bit.
* A note on costs in Sydney
[HG] From "The Sydney Morning herald" (reproduced without permission) Sep 94.
"Sydney cheap for food, dearer for transport" - Sydney citizens slave for 11
minutes to earn enough money to buy a kilogram of their daily bread, while the
residents of Caracas toil for two hours for the same sustenance.
"Prices and Earning Around the Globe", the Union Bank of Switzerland's latest
analysis of international purchasing power, contains many comparisons to make
Sydneysiders puff with pride. But other statistics will leave them envious of
greener grass.
The bank analysed prices, wages and working hours in 53 cities around the world
in the second quarter of this year and updated its international economic
indicator - the Big Mac index.
It takes 26 minutes for a Sydney worker to earn enough money to buy a Big Mac
and a large serving of French fries. To save for this save repast, a worker in
Chicago need only work for 14 minutes while a Londoner must labour for 36
minutes. But to afford this Mac meal in the Nigerian capital of Lagos, an
average wage-earner would have to work for 11 hours.
Sydney was the 12th cheapest city for overall food prices. A range of 39 food
and beverage items which cost $354.30 in Sydney was $1,268.46 in Tokyo.
For prices excluding rents, Sydney was only the 32nd most expensive city
surveyed. Tokyo was the most expensive followed by Lagos (mostly because of
high inflation and a currency pegged to the US dollar), Oslo, Zurich, Geneva,
Copenhagen and Singapore.
The cities with the lowest cost of living were Johannesburg, Budapest, Caracas,
Bombay, Prague and Nairobi.
Workers in Switzerland, Denmark and Japan earned the most in gross hourly
wages, with Sydney's employees 23rd on that list. Sydney secretaries earned
$28,939.22 gross per annum, more than their counterparts in London ($24,882.32)
and Toronto ($23,665.25). But a Genevan secretary earned $60,583.
It is not only the secretaries who are well-paid in Switzerland. The average
gross annual income of Sydney's bus drivers, $21,636.80, compares with $63,693
for Genevan bus drivers. But it was favourable in comparison with the
$14,875.30 earned by those in Singapore.
For passengers, it cost $2.40 to take public transport 10 kilometres or 10
stops in Sydney while New Yorkers only paid $1.70. The same trip cost $4.11 in
Copenhagen.
Those who preferred to drive paid $19,878.81 for a popular four-door car in
Sydney while the average American paid $17.444.67. But spare a thought for
drivers in Singapore, who paid $74,106.04 for a Mitsubishi Lancer because of
high taxes aimed at curbing traffic.
Monthly rent for a medium-priced three-room flat averaged $581 in Sydney while
New Yorkers paid $1256 and Hong Kong residents paid $1,540. Johannesburg
landlords only expected $230 each month.
And for fashion victims, a medium-priced selection of women's clothes - dress,
jacket, skirt and shoes - cost Japanese women $2,582.89 while their Sydney
sisters faced a retail therapy bill of $581.49. The same look cost only $486.83
in Los Angeles and $459.78 in London.
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