OPINION

One of the big political moments this month was Budget 2023, which outlines how the Government intends to spend taxpayers’ money. A week on and the polls suggest that, for many, there appears to
be little benefit but everyone will carry the debt.

The Budget spend-up has brought more pain for Kiwis, pushing up inflation and interest rates and increasing the squeeze for the 60 per cent of homeowners who need to refix their mortgage in the coming 12 months.

The Treasury has confirmed that government spending will result in interest rates higher for longer, which means no reprieve at the supermarket, with rents or mortgages.

Someone with a $500,000 mortgage is now paying $760 more a fortnight in interest than two years ago.

Rents are up $160 a week. That’s over $8000 extra a year that renters have to find in their budgets. Many people are telling me how hard it is to find rental properties in Whangārei anyway, with Ma and Pa rental owners leaving due to government tax changes.

We have all noticed that, in the five and half years of this Government, food prices are up a massive 28 per cent. This particularly hurts the most vulnerable.

The Government is now spending an extra $28,000 per household each year, but this is being wasted on bureaucrats, consultants and ideological projects instead of bolstering the frontline services we need here in Whangārei, like police, nurses, doctors and midwives and ensuring our kids are taught the basics.

Rather than dealing with the drivers of inflation, the Government is now lecturing Kiwis to turn down the heating and have shorter showers to beat the cost-of-living crisis.

Before we distribute wealth, we need to create wealth. So to get our country back on track we need to address the underlying drivers of inflation.

We think restoring discipline to government spending and stopping the waste ($8m of measles vaccines were let expire and incinerated), delivering meaningful tax relief by adjusting income tax brackets for inflation, stopping the addition of unnecessary costs to businesses and restoring the Reserve Bank’s single mandate of putting the lid back on inflation is what is required.

It’s not about the economy for the economy’s sake.

It’s about people – it’s about lifting incomes, creating new jobs and being able to afford the public services that hard-working Kiwis deserve. It’s about better healthcare, an education system that equips our kids for success and meeting our climate change goals.

We know that it is only through a strong economy that New Zealand can have these things.