Editor's Note

Hi Everyone,

With Christmas around the corner it is certainly an exciting time of year – Mr Elf is causing mischief under the cover of night, children are hyped up on candy-cane sugar highs and everyone is floating around from one festive gathering to another – hugging friends and feeling the warmth of a festive spirit which is almost as high as our current heatwave!

While there is much fun to be had, however, it is also a time of year where we feel the pinch on our pockets as we struggle to find the dollars in our purses to fund this kind of merriment.

For a long time I’ve been watching my weekly supermarket bill get higher and higher. I used to get everything I needed for around $150, now I am lucky if I get out of the shop with anything under $250 – how has this happened?

We are in the middle of a ‘cost of living crisis’ and, in my opinion, this is being exasperated by the cost of everyday items on our supermarket shelves.

Now, I am all for paying a little extra to ensure our farmers and producers are receiving a fair price for their hard work, but according to Andrew Willcox this is not what’s happening.

In a recent article he informed us that the national trade price for lamb has fallen from $8.39 per kilo to $4.82 per kilo, but we are still paying the same price at the supermarkets – how is this fair?

We also know that automated check-outs are now common practice. And, while I am happy to ‘beep’ my own items, it would be nice if this cost-saving solution was passed onto the consumer.

Instead, while I am paying more than I ever have at the supermarket, I am reading about how one of our leading supermarket chains made an annual profit of $1 billion.

This all seems off-kilter to me.

Rach