Drum roll, please

I would like to thank John Key, Bill English and their coterie in Government for doing such a fine job creating such confidence within the business world.

Confidence in the direction the country is going is so great that I received a wage rise of – drum roll – 19 cents an hour. Wow! $7.60 per week gross.

Will that pay for a cup of tea and a slice of cake in a cafe in Newmarket after a week’s hard work?

Should I be enthused with confidence after hearing John Key reject Labour’s promise to move the minimum wage to $15, then beyond? Is John Key suggesting low-paid workers have more than enough already? Was my new house insurance premium, which has just gone from $527 to $783, really nothing to worry about?

I know that John Key doesn’t set insurance premiums, but I also know that John Key does nothing to address the low-pay issue that affects thousands of workers.

When in opposition, National lambasted the Labour government because our wages were so far less than those in Australia.

Since being in government, Bill English has suggested that it is great that our wage rates are lower as that could bring some Australian businesses our way.

This tells me that the low-paid, the workers whose sweat helps keep the rich keep getting richer, will always be low paid as long as there is a National, Right-wing government in power.

There is more than enough wealth in New Zealand to enable every working person to earn a fair living wage. Unfortunately, there are also too many greedy people keeping far too much in their own pockets.