Prawns, brussels sprouts off the shopping list as cost of living hits

Pam Clarke, who is on a disability pension and lives on her own, said her monthly electricity bill was on average a little over $40 a month two years ago.

However, her latest bill was $93.

Miss Clarke said she had not been using any additional appliances and she doesn't use her heater because she suffers from fibromyalgia.

A side affect of this can be feeling too hot or cold and Miss Clarke said she often felt the heat more than other people.

Miss Clarke said she got a shock when she saw her last bill.

"It's getting hard," she said.

"I don't have that much wriggle room after I pay rent."

Miss Clarke said the rising cost of living meant she had to be very selective about what she bought at the supermarket.

"Every time I go to the supermarket, I walk out with less," she said.

Miss Clarke said she no longer purchased pre-packaged meals because they were too expensive.

She purchases a luxury item on occasions - recent splurges have included a bag of prawns and a bag of brussel sprouts.

Miss Clarke said she would be "putting on clothes rather than turning on the heater" if it was a particularly cold winter.

She was one of a number of people who said their energy costs had increased when The Standard put a call-out on social media.

"Our gas went up double," one person wrote.

A number of others said theirs had increased by a third in recent months.

Earlier this month Member for Wannon Dan Tehan said he had heard from some residents they would not be able to afford heating over winter.

"What I'm hearing is that some people are now preparing to go without heat over the winter and are looking at ways to keep warm - for instance blankets or extra layers of clothing to keep their power bills down," he said.