A New Scientist investigation has found that water with purified water in it is more expensive to buy than bottled, which is the best source of purified water in Australia.
It also found that the price difference between a pure water and a bottled water can be as much as $40,000.
The article shows how the price of a bottle of water can drop by more than 70 per cent when it is used for drinking.
A cheaper alternative is to buy bottled water and then buy purified water.
But in recent years the price for a bottle has fallen because the price on the supermarket shelves has increased, according to research by the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
The price difference has also narrowed in the past three years, with bottled water costing just $4 a litre at some supermarkets.
In the lead up to the election, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his party were promised that if elected, they would cut the price.
It is unclear if the promise was realised.
Mr Morrison and the Opposition Leader Scott Morrison have said the Government will scrap the tax and price of bottled water if it wins the election.
“We are committed to abolishing the tax on water, and we will do that through legislation, not through a policy, not a political manoeuvre,” Mr Morrison said last week.
However, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister said he did not “believe that bottled water is an appropriate alternative”.
The price difference means the average person who drinks bottled water costs $40 more per year than if they bought their water from a public water supply, according the research.
The study was carried out by the National Centre for Public Policy Research, a non-partisan think tank.
Topics:business-economics-and-finance,water-management,australiaFirst posted July 02, 2018 14:54:14Contact Louise Lacey