Real cost of living reveals unbalanced NZ economy

green-party

Thu Feb 09 2017 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Real cost of living reveals unbalanced NZ economy

Thursday, 9 February 2017, 12:47 pm
Press Release: Green Party

9 February 2017

The rising cost of living is hitting people who earn modest incomes and beneficiaries hardest, the Green Party said today.

Living costs for beneficiaries and low-spending households rose more than twice as much as for high-spending households in 2016, according to Statistics NZ’s Household Living Costs Price Index data.

“Bill English says the economy is humming along nicely but the truth is that while people at the top might be doing well, thousands of families on lower incomes are feeling the squeeze,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw.

“The rewards of a growing economy aren’t being shared fairly and that shows how unbalanced our economy has become.

“We’re talking about people who are spending not much at all, trying their best to keep to budget and make ends meet, and they’re getting disproportionately hit by the rising cost of living.

“We need to put the economy back on track so that when the headline numbers are good, everyone notices that in their own wallet.

“Rising rents are really taking a toll on families’ finances. Fixing the housing crisis will go a long way to helping families afford a better quality of life.

“It’s a myth that rising rents just leave students with less beer money. More and more families are renting their home, either by choice or because they can’t afford to buy in National’s broken housing market.

“We can ensure working people get fairer pay by strengthening workplace rights, and we can level the playing field with a capital gains tax (excluding the family home),” Mr Shaw said.

ends

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from Green Party on InfoPages.