Right now the big stress for most of us is the rising cost of living. Mortgage rates, rents, petrol and food are all up.
The war in Ukraine has increased the cost of food, supply chain issues created by Covid have also wreaked havoc. The fact that this is a global phenomenon doesn’t make it any easier, but Labour’s targeted policies and the fact that wages have been rising in the last few years will help significantly.
To ease the pressure on people Labour has extended the fuel tax cut, reduced road user charges and has cut in half the cost of public transport for everyone until the end of January next year.
While cutting fuel costs is universal and helps us all out, it will also ease the cost of transporting goods and help curb price increases. This extension is one way we can help to make life more affordable for people, as well as providing more certainty in the face of volatile prices at the petrol pump. It will also help reduce the fuel burden on businesses, keeping the cost of food and essential goods lower across the board.
The first of the new cost of living payments will go out soon, supporting more than two million low income New Zealanders, including many here in Auckland Central. This sits alongside our winter energy payment and when taken together, these payments will support 81% of New Zealanders aged 18 and over with their bills this year.
Labour is also taking on the supermarkets to stop excessive profits being made out of food and groceries. The supermarket duopoly has been recognised as a problem for many years but this government is the first to do something about it. Supermarkets have been making more than double what is considered a fair rate of return on capital investment, deriving excess profits of around $1 million a day, every day, across New Zealand.
It is no accident that the review of the supermarkets happened under a Labour government, which is never afraid to tackle big business. The changes being made aim to increase competition, to make sure that Kiwis pay a fair price on a basic food shop. This includes calling on the supermarkets to open up wholesale access for their competitors at a fair price – and if they don’t then we will do it for them through law. These changes will make it easier for new competitors to enter the grocery market, and ensure fairer prices.
These measures build on the work we’ve done since taking office to lift wages and make life more affordable for New Zealanders as we move forward with our plan to grow a secure economy for all. Again, the detractors claimed the raising of wages would lead to unemployment. We have the lowest unemployment I have ever known. When times are tough economically the best resilience comes from being able to earn a decent living.
This year’s minimum wage increase is worth more than $2,500 a year for full-time workers, has boosted Superannuation and Working for Families, people can also access cheaper doctors’ visits, free school lunches and more.
Max Rashbrook of Victoria University recently called the school lunches programme, “Ardern’s low key school food revolution”. I think it’s easy to forget just how transformative this kind of policy has been and the importance of feeding 220,000 children across our low-decile schools. Things like this remove barriers to our children learning at school and help their families weather the storm of inflation and its impact on the cost of living. (Helen White)
This article was funded by the Parliamentary Service.
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