Continuing to hit Kiwis where it hurts

Todd Talks
with Todd Muller
National MP

The Government continues to show it doesn’t understand the pressure ordinary, hard-working New Zealanders are under and it continues to forge ahead with policies which drive up the cost of living.

Kiwi families are being forced to dig further into their pockets as the Government makes ill-thought through decisions against expert advice.

The Government’s own officials confirmed recently that gas and electricity prices will rise because of the Government’s harmful ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration.

Officials warned the Government that this decision will cost New Zealanders billions of dollars. And that’s before you take into account the loss of jobs and the economic impact on Taranaki communities in particular.

Petrol prices have once again hit record highs, topping $2.40 a litre in many centres, but the Government has pushed ahead with its planned petrol price hikes, with another four cents per litre tax added.

It is irresponsible to increase fuel taxes when crude oil prices are at a four-year high, but this is just the latest act in a pattern of poor decision-making by a government which thinks it knows best.

But not only are New Zealanders going to be paying even more at the pump, new data shows the median weekly rent in NZ reached a record high in August, further adding to the burden placed on our households.

In what has become a trend for this Government, it ignored expert advice and forged ahead with its decision to reform the legislation that governs renters and landlords.

Officials advised the Government that this move would drive landlords out of the market and hike rents up further – despite Housing Minister Phil Twyford insisting this wouldn’t happen.

These decisions all result in increases to the cost of living that will hurt all New Zealanders. And they will hit our poorest the hardest because they are most likely to rent, drive older, less fuel-efficient cars; and have less flexibility around household cooking and heating costs.

National understands the pressures hard-working Kiwi families are under, and we’ve got the skills to manage the economy to keep the cost of living down. We believe in doing things to grow the economy, not slow it down – because that’s how New Zealanders will get ahead.

We believe New Zealanders should be able to keep more of what they earn. We think New Zealanders are taxed enough as it is.

But unfortunately taxpayers are being used to bankroll the Government’s bad ideas, which are driving up the cost of living, slowing down the economy and reducing the opportunities for Kiwis to get ahead.

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