Affordable living came up as a key priority — and I want to make sure that you hear about the measures we’re taking to help people here in the Taieri electorate with the cost of living.
Labour is focused on the bread and butter issues that matter most to New Zealanders — and that’s why we’ve signalled a new direction for our Government and our priorities this year.
To make sure that we can do more to support families in the here and now, we have announced we’re cancelling or delaying a suite of programmes to free up funding and resources for where they’re needed most.
This includes cancelling the TVNZ/RNZ public media entity merger, and biofuels mandate, and delaying the social insurance scheme. We’re also considering the Three Waters programme — although, as we have seen in Auckland recently, it’s simply not an option to stick with the status quo.
These policy changes will help to provide greater bandwidth for the Government to ensure we’re doing all we can to support families with the cost of living in the Taieri electorate and across the country.
You might have heard that we’re extending the fuel tax cut, discounted road user charges and half price public transport until June 30, 2023.
Transport is one of the biggest expenses for households and this extension will help to ease the pressure, cutting the cost of filling up a 60 litre tank of petrol by around $17.25 and helping to reduce fuel costs that are pushing up food prices.
We’re also further increasing the minimum wage, lifting it in line with inflation from April 1. In tough times, it’s critical to support those who struggle most to make ends meet, and right now, low income families in our community need this support more than ever.
At the same time, we’re putting in place a range of support for businesses that were hit particularly hard by the recent severe weather. This includes funding for discretionary flood recovery payments, small business advice, as well as wellbeing support.
On top of that, Inland Revenue will waive penalties for late payments for Auckland, Northland, the Bay of Plenty, Thames/Coromandel and Waikato.
All of these decisions show the new direction our Government is taking, as we deliver on our commitment to focus on the issues that matter most to New Zealanders.
