i'm an ex butcher... (one could say i still am)
for pork and chicken your Asian butchers are often the cheapest anywhere in Australia
Pork fillets (eye) are often the best value i reckon (near zero waste)
Beef i reckon whole rib fillets are often the go, one of the least waste cuts IMO
I like a porterhouse (as a tbone with the fillet) but as a steak they can dry out if you don't like rare-medium
Rump is nice but quality ones carry a lot of wasted fat... (and my wife does not like it)
whatever you buy try to get nice white fat and "firm" meat.
if you pick up a Rib or Porter and it's all floppy and YELLOW looking fat toss it back your wasting your time and money
if i can i buy BUTT eye fillets this is the fat end of the eye fillet without the tails
try to find a wholesaler (who deals in pallets of carton meat) who also has some sort of shopfront you can buy direct from in smaller but whole cuts.
many do it as a bit of a cash sideline sort of thing but you will have to get out of the inner city area normally
local here abouts even some IGA's do good meat at bargain prices at the right times (random).
I keep my eye out at a places few and bulk buy if the right meat appears
Here in Brisbane i go to Manton Street Meat & Smallgoods in Morningside he is a wholesaler with a shopfront.