A contributing factor to the following headline is wages, if penalty rates are lowered the expenses and charges of others should be lowered. (including blood sucking politicians, lawyers,dentists, tradespeople, etc)

Sydney and Melbourne rank among the top six most expensive cities in the world to live, according to the Economist's latest Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.

The bi-annual survey, carried out by the business magazine's intelligence unit, ranked Sydney as the fifth-most expensive city in the world, with Melbourne one spot behind in equal sixth.

Singapore took the dubious honour of top spot, followed by Paris, Oslo and Zurich.

Perth and Brisbane shared 21st spot while Adelaide came in at 37th.

The survey of 131 cities assessed costs by comparing more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services.

These included food, drink, clothing, household supplies, rents, transport, utility bills and recreational costs.

Currency fluctuations and rising prices can have a big impact on results.

Lets have a look at these obscene penalty rates!
Take Woolworths Supermarkets one of Australia's biggest employers. What do they pay.
In Victoria which is like all the other states Woolworths run a 24;hr 7;day operation. For 38 hrs a week a full time adult employee is paid a gross wage of $783.58 or $20.62/hr. For this the worker is required to work a 7 day roster Monday to Sunday with hours spread over a 4 week cycle. How do these workers fair on the weekend gravy train?
Penalty rates
Saturday 10pm to 12mn 25%t
Sunday 12mn to 6am 100%
Sunday 6am to 9pm 50%
Sunday 9pm to 12mn 100%
Mon-Fri 12mn to 5am 30%
Ordinary rates apply Monday to Friday 5am to midnight
and on Saturday 5am to 10pm.
Woolworths pay little in the way of penalty rates, almost nothing on a Saturday and mostly 50% on a Sunday.
The pay rates for children at Woolworths are 16 years 50% of the adult wage, at 18 67.5%.
Naturally this is a SDA union negotiated agreement, those in small shops can rely on the much inferior award conditions, if they are lucky enough to get them paid. For most shonk shop keepers it s more like $10'hr causal kid, and pay your own tax.
p/s For the vast majority of Woolworth's shop employees getting that 100% loading would be like winning Lotto.

PHYLLIp/quote..<<..Singapore took the dubious honor of top spot,>>

yeah i noted that too
aint it too clever ..we link our base petrol price
to their super blended..retail price..via the SINGAPOO.. 'price parity' scam,..WE DONT PAY YANKI PRICE PARITY/lol\EVEN THOUGH WE BUY IT ALL IN YANKI DOLLARS..

SIGNOp00R peTERO PRICING PARITY..is aN OTHER pure greed scam...[jail them politicians/public servants.. who conceived it like that/just to revenue raise higher taxes from it..plus..then a higher gst on top

other scams abound..[LIKE RUDDS 4 Billion plus to give investors- assured rental income subsidy..for 20 years/to give 'govt workers..a closeby their workplace residence..

[now those actually occupied ARE Occupied mainly by foreign students getting Subsidized education/HOUSING..while we send our dumbed down kids go to WORK 24/7 AT macdonalds

Dear Philip S

Nice bit of reading that to bad it doesn't take into consideration cash in hand payments, I have first hand knowledge this is true, in Canberra most coffee shops restaurants and takeaway shops employee staff cash in hand, Would you guys like to know the no.1 Chinese restaurant in Canberra visited by prime ministers sporting stars and the like pay their staff cash. Must be a plan to make Canberra cheaper to live.
So if its one kid working part time who cares but it has developed into an underground network the stores/shop encourage the kids to stay on the dole then pay some miserable amount of money even given time off if have center link appointments. Now tell me how a honest business is suppose to compete. Businessman killing business man but blame the worker

Aussie boy, the anti work choices campaign was the biggest beat up ever taken to an election and was defeated only by the unions big buck fight against WC's wages and conditions that EFFECTED A MINORITY.

The result was a government, entrenched with unionism and a minister who's sole objective was to destroy so many working arrangements Simply because she had an axe to grind as they (labor) were filthy that the libs had wound back some of the ridiculous unfair dismissal laws that were in many situations, unworkable.

Evidence is plain for all to see as we went from a prospering nation in 07 to a nation crippled with debt, lacking in confidence and headed for a downturn of what can only be described as a train wreck.

The other VERY IMPORTANT FACT is that the wages and conditions enjoyed by many today, have been born from the imbalance between demand and supply and now that the demand has slowed, the unions are persistent in their aim to protect these conditions, even though the circumstances have undergone a dramatic shift.

Put simply, we face the prospect of being the highest paid, under worked nation if the unions get their way.

Times have changed and unless our workforce is provided with the flexibility to change as well, the result will be devastating for many businesses and employees alike.

If you don't believe me, just watch this space because this is precicely what I predicted would happen when those economic vandals took their axe to IR.

Runner "
btw sooner or later the myth that teachers and nurses are not well paid will be busted."

Well I doubt that Runner, but I'm sure that the notion that religious clergy should be paid anything at all will be busted long before teachers and nurses have their wages cut!