Why the spotlight is on Sydney's sky-high cost-of-living ahead of NSW election

Updated

Priscilla Meyer and her young family are giving up on the Sydney dream.

The 27-year-old has been living with her husband and toddler Charlie at her mother's house in Parklea for three years, trying to scrape together the money to buy their own place.

But the Harbour City's high property prices and rising cost of living mean they're now looking to buy in Victoria, where they can get a house an hour's drive from Melbourne's CBD for under $500,000.

"Sydney's just unaffordable for us," Ms Meyer said.

"We can't even think about it anymore, we've stopped dreaming about it."

Cost of living looms as a critical NSW election issue in a city which is widely accepted to be among the world's most expensive, particularly for housing.

In focus groups conducted by the Coalition and Labor, cost of living is frequently cited as voters' number-one concern.

Even after moving back in with her mother and stepfather, Ms Meyer said she had found saving money in Sydney difficult.

"The price of everything keeps going up but wage growth stays the same, so it's just getting so expensive," she said.

"We really have to pay attention to every little dollar we spend, finding the best phone deal, finding the best petrol price."

Ms Meyer's mother Allison Williams thinks her daughter's generation is more financially stretched than she was as a young parent.

"It's so much harder now — they both have to work full time and if they don't there's not enough money to try and save, plus childcare is so expensive, travel is so expensive," she said.

Last year, property analyst CoreLogic's figures revealed the average price of a home in Sydney tumbled 9.7 per cent — the most of any capital city.

However, it was still the most expensive place to buy in Australia, with the median price almost $800,000.

Sydney living standards slipping

Analysis provided exclusively to the ABC has revealed living standards in Sydney are going backwards.

The numbers, provided by Associate Professor Ben Phillips from the Australian National University's Centre for Social Research, shows living standards in NSW started to plateau around 2013.

In the past 12 months they have crept back by 0.3 per cent.

Mr Phillips' analysis is based on incomes adjusted for cost of living changes, using data drawn from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) consumer price index, inflation and national accounts figures, and surveys of income and housing.

"Over the last 30 years we have had living standards increase very strongly by say 60, 70 per cent both in NSW and Australia," he said.

"The last 10 years things have turned though."

Matters of State Is the cost of living increasing?

From housing to medical bills, childcare to sport it seems everything is getting more expensive. How has the cost of living increased across NSW? And are our lifestyle choices making things feel tight? More episodes



From housing to medical bills, childcare to sport it seems everything is getting more expensive. How has the cost of living increased across NSW? And are our lifestyle choices making things feel tight?

Both major parties have tried to appeal to cash-strapped Sydneysiders ahead of the March 23 vote.

After years of focusing on big infrastructure projects, the Berejiklian Government switched gears in its most recent budget, promising to make voters' lives more affordable.

It has been rolling out schemes and bonuses ever since — ranging from $300 baby bundles for new parents, to free vehicle registration for the city's most frequent toll-road users.

The State Opposition has countered with its own promises, including free bus travel for school students, and solar panel rebates if it is elected.

Plenty more pledges are expected as the campaign continues — but whether cost-of-living policies change voters' minds is debatable, according to independent polling analyst Andrew Catsaras.

"When you're promising to do something about the cost of living, it's almost like promising people you're going to do something about ageing," he said.

"It really is a very nice promise to make but whether or not you can actually deliver is another thing all together and I think voters see it that way.

"In small pockets with particular offers it may make a difference, but across the board I don't think it makes much difference at all."

'I think we're the silent majority'

The political promises have not won over pensioner Jilly Anderson and her daughter Kate, a mental health support worker.

Ms Anderson retired recently and said she would be homeless had she not moved in with her daughter.

The duo also moved to North Parramatta — about 8 kilometres further from the CBD than where they had been living in Concord West — to find better value for money.

"I'd never be able to live in Sydney without Kate's help," Ms Anderson said.

According to data from digital property portal Domain, Sydney's rents fell by 1.8 per cent in 2018 to be $540 per week for houses — the first time they had dropped in 12 years.

The women keep a careful budget, but do not think the cost-of-living promises on offer from the major parties will change their lives.

"I think we're the silent majority — a retired person and a single person," Ms Anderson said.

"I think we're left out of the equation, I think they're only interested really in the families with kids and that's a big mistake because we vote too."

Mr Catsaras said Sydney's middle-income families would be the likely targets of the major parties' cost-of-living promises.

"If you can shift a percentage of that group of people then you are well along the way to actually winning an election, so both of them are competing very hard to get the attention of that group of voters," he said.

Mr Catsaras said cost-of-living would remain a sore point for NSW's politicians until wage growth was addressed.

According to ABS data, wage growth Down Under is at near-record lows — and last year increased by around only 2 per cent.

However, after inflation was taken into account, that number is more like 0.3 per cent.

Back in Parklea, Ms Williams conceded her family would benefit from some of the cost-of-living measures announced.

However, it's not going to change her mind.

"Sydney has just got so expensive that I don't think it's going to be a quick fix, it's going to take years and years to change," she said.

Topics: government-and-politics, state-elections, elections, nsw

First posted