The Green Party has released estimates showing a family with two children could save over $5,000 a year under its plans for rooftop solar, supermarket competition, school lunches, cheaper public transport and income tax cuts.
“Households are struggling with record costs after three years of Luxon’s failed policies. The Greens will deliver real cost-of-living relief for New Zealanders,” says Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson.
“A family with two kids that puts solar on the roof would have about $100 more in their budget each week under our plans. They would save $1,500 a year on power, $455 at the supermarket, $473 on school lunches, $1,560 with free fares for the kids, $50 with $2 fares for the adults, and $1,140 in income tax.”
“For a family that has been cutting back at the supermarket to cover the power bill, $100 a week changes what they can put in the trolley.”
The estimates cover six scenarios: three household types, each with and without solar. A single parent with one child who installs rooftop solar could save $3,488 a year, about $67 a week. A person living alone who installs plug-in solar could save $1,105 a year, about $21 a week.
“We modelled different households because the cost of living doesn’t only hit families with two incomes. A single parent raising a child on one income has the least room in their budget.”
“Power and food are the bills people tell us they are struggling to pay. This election, the Greens are campaigning to help households put solar on their roofs and to bring more competition to the grocery sector with KiwiMart, a publicly owned supermarket.”
“A strong Green government will choose to bring down what families pay for power, groceries and tax. The Greens have set out how we would do that, and what it would be worth to each household,” says Davidson.
