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The Government could be choosing to invest in Tāmaki Makaurau’s health and education, while keeping down everyday costs like public transport, housing, GP visits, prescriptions, and school lunches.
The National Party’s tax plan promised a lot but is under delivering , especially for whānau who need it most. Cuts to public services and community organisations will leave many people worse off than before the National Government took office. People often tell me that it feels like National is giving with one hand, while taking away even more with the other.
Very few people are getting the $250 a fortnight they were repeatedly promised by Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis during National’s election campaign. To make things worse, they’ve irresponsibly borrowed $12 billion to pay for these tax cuts. They’re leaving future generations to pick up the tab for something that won’t deliver the benefits they’ve promised.
I’ve heard from many Aucklanders who are worried about the cuts to services and jobs going too far, too fast. Even the whānau National has used as an example in their tax brochure will be worse off when you account for what they’re now spending on daily living costs, including public transport and prescriptions. Their example family, Wiremu and Mia, both work full-time, earning an average household income of $120,000. They have two children in primary school. If they live in Auckland, they get $50 a week from the tax cuts, but they’re paying at least $80 more per week.
They’ll be spending double the amount on public transport for their kids and will be charged $5 for most prescriptions. If they own a home, rates and insurance are forecast to rise too. If they don’t own a home, they’ll be spending more in rent, while losing the First Home Grant.
No matter which way you look at it, this whānau is worse off and it’s harder for them to get ahead. The situation is even more dire for pensioners, like my mum – who will get just $2.15 a week, and for the thousands of people who have lost their jobs. Treasury analysis has shown that those on the lowest incomes receive the least benefit from these tax cuts.
Meanwhile, it’s unfair to see that landlords have been gifted a $2.9 billion tax break, while funding for public housing and the First Home Buyers grant has been stripped away. In the Budget, the National-led Government also cut $1.5 billion of funding for building and maintaining public houses, which will slow the progress we’ve made as a country to fix the housing crisis.
$40 million has been stripped away from Māori Housing providers along with cutting $20 million for rangatahi transitional housing. The First Home Grant has been cut, while landlords have been gifted a $2.9 billion tax break. These choices make it harder for whānau to live in warm, secure housing.
Plus, investment is being stripped away from Māori Development, which received zero funding for core services in National’s first Budget. There were no new initiatives for Māori communities and funding for Matariki was halved. It is unfair that funding for Māori development and housing has been taken away to pay for tax cuts at a time when communities across the country are struggling.
Our health and education systems are both suffering because of the National Government’s reckless cuts and poor choices. The healthcare system is desperate for increased funding, with healthcare workers pleading the Government to invest in staffing and infrastructure. Doctors are calling on Shane Reti to urgently increase funding for GPs, so that the price of a doctor’s visit doesn’t accelerate out of reach. Pharmacists are reporting that more people can’t afford to pay for their medications now that prescription charges have been brought back for some. Teachers and students are wondering why their much-needed school classrooms are no longer being funded.
The Government can make up all the stories and excuses it likes, but each day it becomes clearer that life in Tāmaki Makaurau is more expensive under this National Government.
