'Can't afford a $2 sausage': Families across New Zealand struggle with basics as costs rise

The main street of Kaikohe, where a third of households earn less than $30,000 a year. Photo / John Stone, File

From RNZ

The drive to school, or lunch when the kids get there. Filling the car or feeding the whānau. Bills or ballooning debt.

Families across Aotearoa are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living rises, and they are being made to make the tough calls over the basics.

In the Northland town of Kaikohe - where a third of households earn less than $30,000 a year - locals described the cost of living as "crazy", "shocking", and "horrible".

Jeanette was among those feeling the pinch. Her partner recently left his job as a forestry worker in a remote bay because they could no longer afford the $200-a-week petrol costs to get him there.

There was no bus, e-bike, or electric vehicle option available for the commute, but he had been carpooling with colleagues.

"Even with their contribution it still wasn't enough to be able to cover the petrol costs of getting out to work," she said.

"We do hope that he will find local work where he doesn't have to drive or someone else is able to pick him up or carpool, but it's just too hard at the moment."

Now the family of four is relying on the benefit, which Jeanette said helped cover their main costs and they were grateful, but they would not be able to get ahead.

She said they had considered an e-vehicle, but they could not afford to make the switch right now.

"To sell off one car to get another car, it doesn't work out right now."

At the petrol station down the road, Kelly Black was filling up containers to take home for the four-wheeler. He was paying $150 for the two containers alone and estimated it would be $160 to fill his ute.

Tainui was also filling up and said it was costing her $20 to get into town at the moment.

"When you're trying to run your business, it gets really expensive, you have to add that to your costs which drives your prices up higher... so it's getting real hard."

Tainui, who runs a property maintenance company, said an e-vehicle was not affordable or practical for her business.

"Up here we need our 4x4s, like if we're rolling around with a battery-powered car, it would just not work - and the dust is real bad."

Not far from the petrol station Timi is busy selling sausages, with families and motorists pulling over for a bite.

The business helped him earn a bit of extra cash to prop up his pension. He said while he got by thanks to careful planning, he had seen others doing it tough.

"People can't even afford a $2 sausage, and even though bread's gone up - it used to be $1 now it's $1.40 and sausages have gone up too - I know there's a lot of people around Kaikohe who struggle, so if they haven't got the $2, well I just give it to them," he said.

"I feel for those ones with big families."

Timi only comes into town a few days a week to save on petrol and had not considered an e-bike as an alternative.

But one of his customers today, Tipene Mokaraka, encouraged everyone to give them a go.

"Get an e-bike, what's the point of spending $3 a litre on petrol? And with the electric vehicle that I've got, it costs me 24c to get to Auckland, so it makes sense.

Mokaraka said he had taken his e-bike to Whangārei, and while it took him all day, he did not spend anything on petrol.

"What's the point? And then you've got road taxes and all the other bollocks that goes with it - just get an e-bike, less problems."

Ditching the car for the horse is also an option for locals, with Mokaraka saying he had to put gates on bike trails because of people riding their horses into town.

There are a couple of bus services that operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in Kaikohe - but commuter options here are few and far between.

So the pain at the pump will not be easing anytime soon.