Cost of living bites

What’s next? The cost of living crisis is beginning to bite even harder and I really wonder what this government will do next to relieve these price pressures.

Repeatedly Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Finance Grant Robertson have stated that the Government has increased the minimum wage, introduced free lunches into more schools, increased family tax credits, provided free public transport, increased benefits,

supported the energy payment and reduced fuel taxes as a way of saying that they are listening to Kiwis’ financial pressures.

But the problem now, of course, is that these measures have already been introduced and people have already benefited from these various government-provided payments along with, if in employment, wage increases etc but massive financial pressures continue to be applied, so what next?

For people on benefits, the energy payment does not recommence until May 2023 and there is also a likelihood that the 25 cents per litre fuel [subsidy] may be reinstated in January 2023.

So how are Kiwis expected to balance their future budgets in these inflationary times and what else can the Government do to assist the people, it represents, without borrowing even more money?

Mike Baker

Tauranga