Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson had some fun last week at the expense of National leader Christopher Luxon for holidaying in Hawaii while a Facebook entry indicated he was in Te Puke.
This week Robertson is relishing the spectacle of the Commonwealth Games, and the achievements of New Zealand’s sports stars.
He may even succeed in forgetting, at least for a short while, the economic mess that is mounting in NZ – not that he will concede he has had anything to do with inflation breaking into a gold-medal-winning gallop on his watch.
Moreover, he keeps insisting it has already past its prime.
Only last week he was telling his acolytes in Parliament that while the government is acutely aware that many New Zealanders are doing it tough,
Maybe he felt at that point his listeners were unconvinced so he added some more of these bromides:
Neither Robertson nor his leader will concede that they had anything to do with triggering or helping to fuel the inflation that has led to many New Zealanders relying on foodbanks for sustenance or sleeping in cars because of the lack of safe housing, or more children living in poverty than when Labour took office.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern repels such awkward questions, saying inflation “impacts the entire world”.
As Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson seems content to let the Reserve Bank governor stew in his own juice as critics seek to apportion blame for the root causes of the rising inflation, said to be the worst since the 1970s.
Arthur Grimes, former Reserve Bank chair, has said that the current Reserve Bank’s need to consider unemployment when setting monetary-policy targets meant it had been paying no attention to inflation over the past two years.
So who charged the Reserve Bank with the task of sustaining employment as well as playing its conventional role of ensuring price stability?
None other than the current Finance Minister.
And most authorities now argue that the government was responsible for the fiscal over-spend which was so highly stimulatory that it helped fuel inflation.
The legacy which the Ardern government bequeaths to its successor may not just be untamed inflation but also a huge fiscal debt for the next generation to settle.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
“… we are taking action to support them.
“We’ve boosted the incomes of seniors, students in low-income families, while a million New Zealanders are receiving the winter energy payment. From next Monday, the targeted cost of living payment will deliver around $27 a week for low and middle income New Zealanders aged 18 years and over who don’t get the winter energy payment.
“In response to high fuel prices, which have been significantly driven by the war in the Ukraine, we have cut the fuel excise duty and road-user charges and halved public transport costs.
“ Last week, we extended these reductions until the end of January next year to give people certainty over the coming months as prices continue to move around at the pump.
“As we’ve acknowledged many times in this House, 2022 is a tough year and it is a volatile and uncertain environment for Kiwis. However, we are in a strong position to deal with this and we are supporting those most in need”.
Maybe he felt at that point his listeners were unconvinced so he added some more of these bromides:
“We are doing what we can to ensure New Zealanders are paying a fair price. For example, we’re taking action in the supermarket sector to boost competition and get better outcomes at the checkout, we’re closely monitoring margins in the fuel market to make sure savings are being passed on at the pump, and we are looking to the longer term by reducing our dependence on volatile commodities like oil by decarbonising our transport fleet, including through initiatives like the clean car discount.
“We have also put in place our immigration reset to allow us to attract workers to get the skills we need. And we have restarted schemes such as the working holiday visas to help the recovery in tourism and hospitality. The Commerce Commission is carrying out a market study into building materials and this will confirm what many New Zealanders believe, I am sure—that we do pay too much for our building supplies—and we do need to take action in this space as well.
“There is no single or easy solution when it comes to cost of living pressures and the impact of the global inflation spike here in New Zealand, but we will continue to support New Zealanders to respond to these challenging times”.
Neither Robertson nor his leader will concede that they had anything to do with triggering or helping to fuel the inflation that has led to many New Zealanders relying on foodbanks for sustenance or sleeping in cars because of the lack of safe housing, or more children living in poverty than when Labour took office.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern repels such awkward questions, saying inflation “impacts the entire world”.
As Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson seems content to let the Reserve Bank governor stew in his own juice as critics seek to apportion blame for the root causes of the rising inflation, said to be the worst since the 1970s.
Arthur Grimes, former Reserve Bank chair, has said that the current Reserve Bank’s need to consider unemployment when setting monetary-policy targets meant it had been paying no attention to inflation over the past two years.
So who charged the Reserve Bank with the task of sustaining employment as well as playing its conventional role of ensuring price stability?
None other than the current Finance Minister.
And most authorities now argue that the government was responsible for the fiscal over-spend which was so highly stimulatory that it helped fuel inflation.
The legacy which the Ardern government bequeaths to its successor may not just be untamed inflation but also a huge fiscal debt for the next generation to settle.
1 comment:
Why is Robertson at the games on the taxpayers dollar? Has he taken Alf? Are he and Alf entering the leapfrog ompetition? He certalinly has not done anything to entitle him to a holiday. He and the rest of the cult are the cause of the cost of living at the moment. No amount of spin and obfuscation can get him out of that resposibility.
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