King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 14 July 2011. Volume:674;Page:20110. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
2. 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What recent reports has he received on the cost of living? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 I have seen a report showing that the true test for the cost of living is the rate at which wages benefits and superannuation are rising compared with prices. We do not know the situation of every New Zealander and their family because everyone’s circumstances are different. However the facts are that the main benefits increase each year by the same rate as prices. New Zealand superannuation has to increase each year by at least the same rate as prices and over the last 3 years it has increased significantly faster than the cost of living. The after-tax average wage has increased 7.1 percent over the last year compared with inflation of 4.5 percent. So although many New Zealand families feel they are under pressure with rising prices the outlook for them is reasonably positive. 
Hon Annette King 
: In light of reports that prices are going up rapidly what immediate relief is the Government providing for the rising costs of basic necessities—power rent phone food—which have gone up while according to Major Pam Waugh from the Salvation Army who was speaking on the radio this morning a lot of people’s incomes have stayed the same or reduced? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The Government will continue to focus on protecting the vulnerable particularly through the difficult times we have had and on policies that will raise incomes. I agree with the major: I think the main pressure on families is that they have had relatively low income growth through the recessionary period. The fact has become clear today that the economy is beginning to grow and develop some momentum and that gives hope that if we stick to the policies we have people can expect to see higher incomes in the near future. 
Hon Annette King 
: In light of the Minister’s answer about low income growth is the Government now prepared to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The National Government has increased the minimum wage in each of the last 2 years since it has been the Government. At the current rate of increase it will not be too long before the minimum wage is $15. 
Hon Annette King 
: Why did the Government say on television last night that relief was being provided to hard-pressed New Zealanders because the average income earner is getting back around $3 a week in accident compensation levy reductions when the reductions will not apply until April next year—9 months away? Relief is needed now. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: One of the reasons ordinary families have been under pressure is that the last Labour Government did such a shocking job of managing the accident compensation scheme that levies had to be put up. Many families will be looking forward to the $600 million reduction in accident compensation levies from which they will all benefit. 
Hon Annette King 
: Does he recall National in Opposition demanding that the then Labour Government do something to reduce petrol prices; if so can he tell the House what National now in Government will do to reduce petrol prices now they have reached their highest level ever? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The National Government did do something about high petrol prices: we halved the impact of the emissions trading system. I understand that Labour is promising to double that impact again plus some. The decrease in accident compensation levies will also benefit people who are buying petrol. We are taking action to reduce the cost of living after 10 years when it grew relentlessly under the Labour Government. 
Hon Annette King 
: Did he read the report in the  
Dominion Post 
 today about a middle-income earner who said her weekly food bill is estimated to have increased by $100—that is to buy the same food she was buying a year ago—and that this has definitely affected her family; if so is the only response from National at this time that accident compensation levies will be reduced at some time in the future? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: No. I did see the story and I admire the mother for the careful and focused way in which she is contributing to the community in bringing up those children. We really want to support her. In addition to the reduction in accident compensation levies we have maintained interest rates at the lowest level in 45 years. That family has enjoyed the benefit of tax cuts and we have put together economic policies that give her now some hope that she can look forward to a higher income over the next 3 or 4 years. 
Rahui Katene 
: Is the Minister aware that in a recent Otago University study into food insecurity involving a survey of 19000 people researchers found that people who are food insecure had a significant—90 percent—increase in risk of higher levels of distress; if so in light of rising household and fuel costs when will he implement positive policies that enhance food security for thousands of at-risk households such as Maori Party policies to eliminate GST from healthy foods and to increase funding for Mara Kai? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The Maori Party in discussions with the Government offers a range of fairly constructive suggestions about how to achieve the ends we all want to achieve which is to protect the most vulnerable through tough times. As the economy lifts the country will have more choices about how to spread the benefits of growth but our immediate priority is to achieve a growing economy so that we have some of those choices. In countries where the Government’s books are not under control and debt is out of control everyone is suffering from large income cuts. 
Hon Annette King 
: In light of the reports from social agencies on hardship facing New Zealanders will he now believe social agencies that are providing food parcels at record numbers when they say that many low-income New Zealanders cannot cope with the rising cost of living which forces them to cut back on the food they eat or to seek handouts to be able to feed their families? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: We work closely with social agencies all the time. They have worked with the Government very constructively over for instance the Community Response Fund in which we allocated tens of millions of dollars of extra funding in order to help those agencies with the growing demand caused by the recession. What they want and what we want though is to look forward to the opportunity for rising incomes for those families. Taxing more and spending more will not deliver to those families higher incomes.