- By Christopher Luxon, Leader of the Opposition and MP for Botany
Inflation is the highest it has been in 30 years after hitting 6.9 per cent last week.
It’s a silent thief in your pocket that’s putting Kiwis under massive pressure by causing the increase in the prices of goods and services and it corresponds with a decrease in the value of your money.
We see this taking effect across the country with the increase in everyday essentials like food and fuel. Since 2017, the average house price is up $400,000 and weekly rent is up by $150, interest rates are rising and wage increases are barely a third of the inflation rate.
The facts are stark – Kiwis are going backwards under Labour and many families are struggling to make ends meet.
What we are facing is consequences of Labour’s poor economic management with inflation in New Zealand outpacing Australia’s and many other countries. Australia is 3.5 per cent.
Singapore is 4.3 per cent. Japan is 0.9 per cent. Same pandemic, same war – different results. That’s on Labour.
Last week the Reserve Bank sent a message that it will need help from the Government to try to get inflation under control but it seems Labour has no plan.
Instead, at a time when we need careful economic management and spending discipline, Labour seems intent on pushing ahead with a record $6 billion increase in annual spending in next month’s Budget.
This is not the time to put fuel on the fire. Instead, Labour must do their bit to remove inflationary pressure in the domestic economy. When families are having to sit around the kitchen table and make cuts to their household budget, so should the Government.
While Labour plays the blame game on rising inflation and the cost of living crisis Kiwis are facing, National has a plan.
We would:
- Stop adding costs to business that end up being passed on to the rest of us, as we’ve seen with new taxes on rental properties. We would halt plans for proposals such as a jobs tax and new union-mandated industry-wide employment agreements.
- Remove bottlenecks in the economy that are constraining productive growth. We would begin by fixing immigration settings that are causing some highly skilled workers to pack their bags and preventing others from coming at all.
- Take a more disciplined approach to government spending. This year, government spending will be around $128b, around $52b more than the Government spent in 2017. Ministers have a solemn responsibility to get maximum bang for every buck, ensuring that money is delivering more services and better outcomes, not just pumping up prices across the economy.
- Re-visit plans to go on the biggest Budget spend-up in history. The Finance Minister is planning record new annual spending of $6b in an overheated economy. Every proposal needs to be carefully assessed to ensure it won’t add fuel to the inflation fire.
- Prioritise income relief for workers. Inflation has pushed people into higher tax brackets when Kiwis need that cash more than ever. National would inflation-adjust tax brackets, so that taxpayers can hold onto a bit more of what they earn, with $1600 more a year for a household on an average income.
Skyrocketing inflation is now New Zealand’s public enemy number one. The Government must stop their addictive and wasteful spending and make a commitment to help fight it.
