Labour finance and economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said Christopher Luxon's promise to fix the cost of living has not been kept, as inflation stands at 3.7%, outside the Reserve Bank's target band, and economists warn prices could rise further before Christmas. She said power bills are up nearly 30% and central and local government charges have risen 27% since National took office, and that a further interest rate hike could come next week. She claimed a typical Auckland family with two children is paying around $6,000 more a year under National. Labour's proposals include three free GP visits a year, public transport fare caps, a crackdown on supermarket price gouging, and 10% off student debt.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Original headline: Luxon Broken Promise On The Cost Of Living
Read the original on scoop.co.nz ↗
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cost of livinginflationNew Zealandcentral bank
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Related tickers and likely impact
NZD/USD
• NeutralRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 0.57007 |
| Change that session | +0.29% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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NZCTU president Sandra Grey says StatsNZ figures show consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year to the September quarter, with petrol up 19.1% and household energy up 9.4%. Food prices rose 2.1% annually and 7.6% over three years, with bread up 17.3%, milk 27.9%, and beef and lamb more than 30% since September 2023. The union says 31% of households are food insecure and that three years of real minimum wage cuts have left full-time workers more than $2,000 a year worse off. It also cites unemployment at 5.6% and underutilisation at 13.8%, and warns that the recent fuel price surge will push inflation back up in the December quarter and that Reserve Bank rate rises will hurt struggling households.
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