The latest Consumer Price Index figures show rents rising almost twice as fast as general inflation.
“Christopher Luxon tells New Zealanders one thing while doing another,” says Green Party co-leader and spokesperson for Finance Chlöe Swarbrick.
“He says he is rebuilding the economy, when in reality, his Government’s decisions have helped create rent inflation double the rate of general inflation and driven more people into poverty while deepening and lengthening the recession. Those are consciously made choices, with clear consequences that the Government was warned about.
“We can build an economy that works for people and planet, instead of one which exhausts and exploits both. That requires decisions that prioritise the wellbeing of all, instead of lining the pockets of those at the top.
“The Government is either deeply economically illiterate, taking New Zealanders for chumps, or both.
“Cutting taxes for landlords, paid for by chopping public spending on essential services right through the bone, is not only deeply unfair, but deeply unproductive. It hurts the poorest most, and all of us in the long run.
“The only thing that’s trickling down is more cost for regular people, while Government decisions secure profits for the wealthiest.
“The climate crisis and infrastructure deficit are not going away. Instead of confronting them and investing in solutions, Luxon’s Government is digging its head in the coal and supporting corporate profiteering over New Zealanders’ wellbeing.
“It would appear the only people unwilling to see the devastating reality of this Government’s decisions is the Government itself,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.
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