American woman in Melbourne goes TikTok viral for asking why alcohol is so expensive in Australia

A young American woman who recently moved to Australia has shared her shock at the price of alcohol Down Under. 

Tate Duane, who is originally from California and is now living in Melbourne, said she was surprised at the ‘brutal’ price of a 750mL bottle of spirits in an online clip.

The 22-year-old expat told FEMAIL she bought ‘the cheapest’ bottle of tequila she could find and some margarita mix which cost more than $60. 

‘It’s my first night out in the city and alcohol is expensive, tell me why it was literally 50 bucks for not even a fifth, like it’s small,’ Tate said in the TikTok video.

A ‘fifth’ is a common unit of measurement for spirits in America referring to one-fifth of a gallon or just over 750mL.  

The video has racked up more than 112,400 views with many Aussies in the comments telling Tate the high price of booze is something she needs to get used to while living down under. 

The 22-year-old expat said she bought ‘the cheapest’ bottle of tequila she could find and some margarita mix which totalled more than $60

‘Welcome to Aus! It’s expensive haha,’ one woman said and another replied: ‘Inflation. Everything is really expensive at the moment. We are on the cusp of a recession’. 

‘Aussie that lived in the US here! In Australia you need to switch from spirits to wine. Getting award winning wine for Aldi is fail-safe,’ a third suggested. 

‘Why do you think teenagers go for goon bags? Alcohol is expensive,’ laughed a fourth.

Others cited higher taxes on alcohol is the cause of the eye-watering alcohol costs compared to other countries. 

‘Australia taxes alcohol & cigarettes big time to discourage it. Especially for young people,’ one viewer wrote. 

‘They keep putting taxes on it. It just went up recently,’  another claimed. 

A recent study by Bloomberg revealed Australia is in the third most expensive place in the world to buy alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. 

The average retail price for products including beers, wine, spirits, ecstasy, cannabis, cocaine and heroin is the most costly in Japan with New Zealand and Australia following closely behind. 

Assessed in the Bloomberg study was a pack of cigarettes (popular and premium), a bottle of alcohol (beer, wine and spirits), one gram of amphetamine-type stimulants (including methamphetamine/ecstasy), one gram of cannabis (including marijuana hashish resin), one gram of cocaine (regardless of base forms) and one gram of opioids (including heroin/opium).

Per week, the average sale cost of the ‘package’ is $1,028.7 in Australia, compared to the $100 in tropical countries including South Africa and Colombia.