It really is sobering stuff from Statistics New Zealand today with pretty big price increases in basic items. Everything is up, meat, vegetables, milk. As the Stats NZ Prices Manager said
“Although food prices are now 2.2 percent higher than a year ago, they are 12.0 percent higher than two years ago,” Mr Pike said.
This is putting a lot of pressure on people on low to middle incomes. I have seen some people in real distress in my own electorate, and social services agencies have been reporting big increases in clients. I was in Whanganui last week, and the City Mission there is struggling to cope with people looking for support, including food parcels.
Surely in the face of this the government has to re-think an increase in GST?
on topic please Trevor
I mean LOW.
tui ad time:
“the government has to re-think an increase in GST”
Yeah right
Given how the worm has turned so far this year with the govt (eg – the stance on the drug recommendations on tonights news, Key and Tolley bashing teachers, GST, picking on the poor etc)from ’smile and wave’ man to ’sod the low and middle income earners’, I suspect there will be more dark and dreary news to come.
These increases hit what almost all people in NZ even those so called rich on the 38% tax bracket. Why is it that now you are in opposition this is important how about the last 3+ years, when average NZ was crying out over the increasing cost of living. Lab had no answers but to shift a few chairs and Nats are displaying a similar response. For me both sides have no answers, or perhaps dont want to solve anything just point out the issues on the other sides watch maybe more pertinent. You don’t even know how much we need to live on. Perhaps you and your party need to get out and listen. High PR magic bus tours with guitars do not get you in touch with reality.
So will Labour be revisting its broken promise made in the 1990s to bring real benefit rates back to pre-1991 levels? Benefit rates have stayed the same in real terms as those left by the Richardson/Shipley decimation. Labour pledged to restore them but reneged not long after. Criticism has been met from both main parties with “we increase benefit rates every year in accordance with the CPI”. Problem is the starting point is below not only what those pre-1991 rates were, but does nor reflect not the cost of living. That concept was abandoned in the 1970s, so it’s a double whammy.
You’re kidding right Grant? Basic food prices have been going up for ever. I remember when you could pay fifty cents for a pie, forty cents for a moro bar and a kilo of mince was two dollars.
A 15% GST is actually only a rise of 2.2% which will be easily outweighed by tax cuts and stopping the tax bludgers to grow the economy
The point here, National are going to raise GST. Stop living in the past and answer the question. Shouldn’t Key reconsider that action given current circumstances?
“Although food prices are now 2.2 percent higher than a year ago, they are 12.0 percent higher than two years ago,” Mr Pike said.
Surely in the face of this the government has to re-think an increase in GST?
Translation:
Food prices rose very little this year, but last year was a big increase. Labour have very little else to say, so feel the need to re-litigate statistics that are a year old.
Shouldn’t Key reconsider that action given current circumstances?
Did Labour ever consider reducing GST during their times?
indiana – Reducing GST is different to not increasing it.
All this talk about closing the gap with Australia BUT no talk of strengthening our unions (like Australia), being proactive – doubling the first time home buyer grant, paying a cash amount to ALL Australians…
One thing I will say for the Aussies is that their Government is proactive in times of crisis, ours is entirely reactive and poll driven…
I agree with herodotus, both parties are reactive. national talked changed but is too scared to really change anything. I don’t see Labour offering up anything different. How about some statements about exactly what Labour WOULD do, today, if they had been government. Don’t just slay the sitting Government offer us a REAL alternative.
@Fedora Jane
Inflation hasn’t kept up with the increase of food. When pies were 0.50c and rose, inflation kept up. Its stopped doing that. That I feel is the difference.
Inflation hasn’t kept up with the increase of food.
I ask this without intending to sound smug, but; do you actually know what ‘inflation’ is?
Food Prices make up about 1/4 of the CPI, which is our official measure of inflation. They are not two distinctly separate measures.
Remember also that while food prices might have risen more than the general level of inflation, there are going to be others that have fallen. it all balanes out
My view is that over time the government should move to refund everyone for all the GST that would typically be incurred by someone on a benefit (as well as well as getting rid of/refunding income tax up to that level of income). This would be in lieu of removing GST on food, on power and the other things people want it removed from.
The cost of living according to the typical spend of a poor person is at times going to rise at a different rate to the inflation rate and this should be taken into account when calculating benefits etc.
Labour you really are asking for a whole pile of trouble when you continue to post things like this. You have no moral high ground to claim as you were in government for 9 whole years and allowed a high salary of $70,000 to become an average wage while still taxing them as though they were rich. You allowed wages to remain stagnant while food went up by 12% and petrol by God-knows-what. You also allowed the average house to become 6 times the average wage. Stop the whinging and come out with some solutions. You created this mess, help fix it.
@Phil. Nope. I admit inflation is not my forte. Child development and how children learn is, Hence why I’m studying in order to enter this field and not economics. I’m still interested though and am learning slowly though this site and feel I’m slowly grasping the concepts. Thank you for explaining that to me.
All I know is that it is now too expensive to make mac and cheese and to buy meat. When I buy meat I have chop it up and add a tin tomatoes and make it into a stew with vegies. Even mince I add spiral pasta and vegies to make it go further and have given up buying pasta sauces and make my own. All this and I’m still finding it hard. I’m sorry but can’t stand the taste of powdered milk, and refuse to buy lemonade instead of milk, so maybe that is my problem. Two toddlers plus me = $25-$29pw on milk alone, now price of milk has risen to over $4. I’m now considering using a ratio of 1.1 milk with powdered milk.
I had chops the first time in 18mths due to my brother staying from AUS and him buying them. He couldn’t believe the prices over here. Unfortunately I can’t follow him.
I’m stuck here in NZ.
What has fallen Phil?
I live on the bare necessities. My only luxury is $20 a week for childcare in order to study. This allows me 8 hrs to cram as much as the 25hrs I have to do to pass. I don’t have a car (too expensive) so I use the cheapest dial up per month available in NZ, so I’m able to study from home. I cannot stretch to cover 2 days childcare.
My landlord must be feeling the pinch too as my rent has increased on top of everything else. Please tell me what has decreased. Even though my internet and phone has remained stagnant, power, rent and food hasn’t.
I know what has decreased, wallet sizes.
@Spud
Lol. So true.