puts purchasing power parity at 158.9 for Australia and 83.9
for Singapore based on the International Monetary Fund’s
conversion and exchange rates.
BREAD AND BUTTER
REALITIES FOR LOCALS
How much would a local pay for essentials on a day-to-day
basis in each city then and how has it increased over time? The
EIU tracked the price increases of three items – bread, petrol
and wine – from a decade ago. [see TABLE 3]
We’ve also visited the different supermarkets in Singapore
(NTUC, Giant and Cold Storage) and Melbourne (Coles,
Woolworths and Big W) to personally calculate the prices of the
different necessities. [see TABLE 4]
It is also a lot more expensive to eat out in Melbourne. For
instance, the cheapest complete rice meal (without sides or
drinks) would cost about AUD7.50 at Don Don, AUD9.50 at
Hanaichi and AUD9 at a food court at a mall, as compared
to a complete rice meal (like chicken rice, char siew rice, or
rice with mixed dishes) at SGD3.50 to SGD8 at a food court or
hawker centre. A bowl of noodles costs more in a Melbourne
cafe too, ranging from AUD11 (for kolo mee or dumpling
noodles), compared to a similar bowl in Singapore at SGD3.50
to SGD8 at an eatery.
While cars and petrol, sport shoes and alcohol or beer cost a lot
more in Singapore than in Melbourne, apparel, cigarettes and
entertainment options are costlier in Melbourne. For example,
movie tickets are a lot pricier at a minimum of AUD18 compared
to Singapore’s average of SGD9.
It is also more expensive to travel around Melbourne via public
transport; taking a train, tram or bus costs AUD3.58 for a Zone
1 trip, AUD2.48 for a Zone 2 trip and AUD6.06 for both. This is
in comparison to our minimum of SGD0.77 for the shortest bus
and train rides, with fares averaging SGD2 if you travel from
one end of the island to the other. Taxis are also ridiculously
expensive in Melbourne, with a starting fare of AUD3.50, close
to Singapore’s flag-down fare, but a meter rate of AUD1.83 per
kilometre compared to Singapore’s SGD0.60 per kilometre.
However, this is due to the affordability of cars, with secondhand ones sold as low as AUD1,400 up to the top-selling Toyota
Corolla at about AUD21,790. In contrast, due to the Certificate
of Entitlement (COE) prices in Singapore, a Toyota Corolla
ranges from SGD118,000 to SGD153,000.
First, as the Singapore
dollar strengthens, it
becomes more expensive.
But the reverse is true for
Singaporeans. The stronger
Singapore dollar improves
purchasing power for
Singaporeans. The second
important difference has to do
with what goods and services
are being measured as part
of the cost of living basket in
these surveys.
However, both governments have a variety of schemes and
rebates to offset the costs. For example, both countries offer
a Baby Bonus (AUD5,294 per child in Aus