40 lines
2.9 KiB
Text
40 lines
2.9 KiB
Text
|
New Zealand's capital, Wellington, has been ranked one of the least affordable
|
||
|
|
cities in the world for buying a property. The picture is also grim for renters,
|
||
|
|
with a 12% rise in prices in the past year. That, along with increases in petrol
|
||
|
|
and food prices, has led many to consider moving to nearby Australia -
|
||
|
|
where they have the right to live and work.
|
||
|
|
Chris, a builder, his partner Harmony and their four daughters recently left
|
||
|
|
Wellington to start a new life in the Australian city of Brisbane.
|
||
|
|
Despite owning their home and earning reasonable salaries, they were still struggling.
|
||
|
|
"We have four kids, so it was expensive. We'd notice Australians saying you know the
|
||
|
|
cost of living is going up - but that was the cost five years ago in New Zealand,"
|
||
|
|
says Chris. Leaving New Zealand and the rest of her family was a
|
||
|
|
difficult decision for Harmony. But she says the move was necessary for the children.
|
||
|
|
"You can't make a living in New Zealand. There is no living. You just go backwards.
|
||
|
|
You don't get a choice if you want to live, you have to move, or
|
||
|
|
New Zealand has to change. I want a future for my children and there
|
||
|
|
is none in New Zealand," she says. The New Zealand government has tried
|
||
|
|
to increase some short-term measures like fuel subsidies and halving the cost
|
||
|
|
of public transport - but for many, it's not enough.
|
||
|
|
In Brescia, Italy, steel runs through the veins of the community.
|
||
|
|
In the past 15 years the industry has endured the financial crash and
|
||
|
|
the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, with the war in Ukraine and Covid lockdowns in China,
|
||
|
|
trade is being disrupted further. Mirella and Lucas met at a cast iron
|
||
|
|
foundry in Brescia. Their two steady wages are up against rising food, petrol
|
||
|
|
and energy costs. "With regard to electricity, we have recently suffered
|
||
|
|
like everyone else. Our bill has doubled - even though we are never at home",
|
||
|
|
says Mirella. "We are tightening our belts. Instead of saving a lot,
|
||
|
|
you'll save less," says Lucas. Orders at this cast iron foundry continue.
|
||
|
|
But a crucial source of raw materials from the south-eastern Ukrainian city of
|
||
|
|
Mariupol are in now short supply, after Russian troops occupied the region.
|
||
|
|
Mark Impraim owns a catering business in Ghana - one of the most expensive
|
||
|
|
countries to live in, in Africa. He shops for ingredients for one of his most
|
||
|
|
popular dishes -jollof rice - at a local market. But prices have doubled
|
||
|
|
in recent months. Mark looks at a bucket of tomatoes, dismayed at the price tag.
|
||
|
|
"[This box of tomatoes] used to be 20 cedis. Now it's going for 40," he says.
|
||
|
|
"I should double the price of the food I serve, but that would scare away customers.
|
||
|
|
I try to find a way around it by decreasing the quantity."
|
||
|
|
Among other rising costs eating into Mark's weekly budget is a supply
|
||
|
|
of drinking water. Sachets of water have increased in price twice in four months,
|
||
|
|
due to the devaluation of the cedi.
|
||
|
|
Water suppliers say passing the costs on to customers is unavoidable.
|