Nothing in this world says ‘Straya’ like a cold beer on a hot day, like the crack of a cricket ball against a bat, like the below gif of a kangaroo trapped in an airport pharmacy, like paying hellishly exorbitant prices for goods that our overseas mates get way, way cheaper.
As you probably gleaned from the headline, this article is about the latter. Deutsche Bank‘s recently-published ‘Mapping The World’s Prices Report’ indicates that, for the fourth year running, Australia is the world’s most expensive country.
The report measured world currencies against the US dollar, and found that Aussies currently pay $1.12 for items that would cost $1.00 in the United States.
We only narrowly edged out New Zealand, who pay $1.11 in local currency, but were way ahead of most Asian countries – Japan pays just $0.85, with China at $0.60, and India at $0.28.
Sydney and Melbourne ranked as the most expensive cities in the world for public transport, as anyone who recently took out a second mortgage for a tram trip to St Kilda would probably tell you anyway.
Australia’s falling exchange rate has helped lower prices, but the fact that Australia has survived for so long without experiencing a serious economic slowdown means that goods here are still eye-wateringly expensive.
“In the absence of that, prices have drifted higher over time,” Deutsche Bank Australia’s chief economist Adam Boyton told Fairfax.
“The surge in commodity prices that had underpinned our economic performance meant we really didn’t have to be efficient. We could just rely on getting paid much more to do the same thing.”
The report includes global comparisons on the prices of goods from Big Macs to iPhones, although it’s a bit of a depressing read, and you may need to drown your sorrows in a beer that costs twice what it would throughout much of Asia
The federal budget is due out next week. Pray for us all.
via The Diplomat
Photo: Scott Barbour via Getty Images
