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Andrew Dickens: Is there a cost-of-living crisis?

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 8 Mar 2022, 4:27PM
(Photo / Getty Images)
(Photo / Getty Images)

Andrew Dickens: Is there a cost-of-living crisis?

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 8 Mar 2022, 4:27PM

Whether it was by design or sheer beginners' luck, Christopher Luxon's State of the Union speech in the weekend has exposed the government's Achilles heel. 

Mr Luxon's speech was broadly described as dull as he described returning to the tax regime that existed before Labour's control of the treasury benches. 

But in delivering it he declared that New Zealand was in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, 4 little words that bounced around yesterday. 

The Prime Minister was asked whether there was a cost-of-living crisis yesterday morning on the AM Show. She said there wasn't a crisis. She claimed wage growth, minimum wage increases and family tax credits are all helping mitigate it. It's tough but no crisis. 

Later, I asked Chloe Swarbrick whether there was a cost-of-living crisis. She preferred to call in an inequality crisis as prices and costs of day-to-day items affect the lower paid more.  But she thinks there is a crisis. 

Neale Jones, a former Labour Party staffer admitted it was a crisis and people are doing it tough. 

But later I spoke with Grant Robertson who refused to call the current inflationary phase a cost-of-living crisis, preferring to say it's just the way the system works, it's cyclical but it will pass. But no way would he call it a crisis even though I pressed it on him 3 times. 

All this is important because of course it is a crisis. The cost of living in this country is far too high and has been for a considerable time and it's only going to go higher.  

Ordinary people are hurting and they've been hurting for a long time. 

The price of goods combined with the level of inflation and the rising interest rates are all factors. 

And right at the heart of it is housing prices, both to buy and to rent. And this is important. 

Two elections ago, Jacinda Ardern badgered the then leader of the National Party, Bill English, about the housing crisis in an election debate. She accused him of failing to acknowledge the elephant in the room, of failing to admit there is a crisis. 

Well, that housing crisis has only grown and now it's been joined by inflation levels not seen in generations. 

With the senior leaders of the Labour Party refusing to admit there's a cost-of-living crisis they are making the same mistake Bill English made. The people suffering at the cost of things will see them as either lacking empathy or out of touch with reality. It's the economy, stupid. 

This is a government who hates to admit they're wrong and on this one they're wrong and they are doing more damage to themselves refusing to admit that there's a problem than they would by just saying there is one. 

It's no wonder the first question today in Question Time from Chris Luxon, David Seymour and Simon Bridges was the same 7 words. 

Is there a cost-of-living crisis? 

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