Cost of living crisis: Australian TV pundit claims Kiwis are eating snails

Are Kiwis really sinking this low? Photo / 123RF

As the cost of living crisis bites, many in Aotearoa are finding ways to scrimp and save but a Kiwi journalist appearing on Aussie TV has claimed that we are going to extremes to stretch the Kiwi dollar.

Kiwi-born journalist Angela Mollard appeared on Channel 7's The Morning Show earlier this week to tell viewers that some Kiwis were eating garden snails to get by.

Her comments came during a segment called "What's the buzz" and Mollard offered the example as a way of reassuring Aussie viewers that others had it worse.

"Our inflation is significantly less than other places in the world," Mollard said.

"In New Zealand, they are eating snails from the garden and using water spray instead of toilet paper because it's so expensive."

Mollard's comments appear to be based on a single article from Stuff, which profiled frugal Kiwis.

It included testimony from Kate Todd who told Stuff she did eat snails from her garden.

Are Kiwis really sinking this low? Photo / 123RF

"We fed them oatmeal for a while to get all their poo out, then cooked them with garlic. Chewy but fine," Todd said, adding her partner would also eat roadkill if it was fresh.

The story also included the toileting habits of spendthrift New Zealanders who used cloth for toilet paper, including one woman who also used a spray bottle as a bidet, colourfully known as a "bum gun".

The cost of living crisis was heightened earlier this week when inflation hit 7.3 per cent.

The new figure was revealed on Monday when Stats NZ released its quarterly Consumer Price Index for the three months to June.

The 7.3 per cent increase is the highest since 1990.

The increase was largely driven by rising rents and construction costs. Prices for the construction of new dwellings increased by 18 per cent in the June 2022 quarter, compared to the same period last year.

"The 18 per cent annual increase in the June quarter follows an 18 per cent increase in March and a 16 per cent increase in December 2021," said Stats NZ general manager Jason Attewell said.

The next largest contributor to annual inflation was from the transport group, due to higher prices for petrol and diesel.

Petrol prices increased 32 per cent in the year to the June 2022 quarter, the largest annual increase since the June 1985 quarter. Diesel prices increased 74 per cent over the same period.