Insane price of Aussie favourite shows cost of living in remote towns

Australians living in remote areas are paying double the price for basics like a packet of Tim Tams and laundry detergent.

Remote Australians pay double the price for TimTams. Picture: Instagram

The cost for a packet of Tim Tams has revealed the great divide between city grocery store prices and prices found in remote areas of Australia.

As first reported by the ABC, prices for staples in Western Australia’s northernmost town, Kalumburu, would make most Australians’ eyes water.

A packet of Tims Tams there will set you back an eye-watering $11.70, while a litre of fuel can go for as much as $3.75.

Remote towns like Kalumburu can be difficult to access and take more time and resources to reach. Picture: ABC News

A basket of healthy food costs 40 per cent more in remote stores than in suburban supermarkets. Picture: AFP

The ABC report notes that grocery store items like baked beans and even laundry detergent can cost remote grocery store customers almost double that of their city counterparts who shop in supermarket chains like Coles and Woolworths.

According to the ACCC, the two major supermarket groups do not operate in remote Aboriginal communities like Kalumburu, despite operating in most regional areas.

Remote grocery stores cannot compete with the big supermarket chain prices given how much it costs to get basics to their regions. They have higher operating costs and lower bargaining power to secure nationally competitive wholesale prices, the ACCC says.

The latest biannual market basket report from the Northern Territory government found a basket of healthy food, based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines, costs 40 per cent more in remote stores than in suburban supermarkets.

For half the year during the west season the roads into Kalumburu are cut off. Picture: Supplied

During the wet season suppliers have to use a barge to deliver items to these remote stores from Darwin. Picture: Supplied

The reason for the great divide in prices is largely due to the physical divide between suppliers and these remote grocery stores.

Remote towns like Kalumburu can be difficult to access and take more time and resources to reach.

According to 2016 census data, Kalumburu is home to 412 people with just over 90 per cent of the population identifying as Aboriginal, largely from the Wunambal and Kwini language groups.

Kalumburu is the most remote permanent settlement in Western Australia, located about 550 km from Kununurra in the south east and about 1.3 km from Darwin in the north.

This may not seem too far from the city, but for half the year during the west season the roads into Kalumburu are cut off, forcing suppliers to use a barge to deliver items to these remote stores from Darwin.

The ABC reports this barge journey takes two days and costs around $25,000 a fortnight.

The federal government is attempting to close the grocery price gap through its National Strategy for Food Security in Remote First Nations Communities.

Alongside submissions, online consultations have been running since May and in-person forums are being held right now in remote communities across the country until the end of the month.