Question of the Day
‘Question of the Day’ is Waatea news’ daily pātai, a space where whānau speak their truth. It’s not a poll, it’s a platform. A place where those directly impacted by government policy, economic shifts, and national events respond in their own words. From who they’ll vote for to how they’ll survive a natural disaster, Question of the Day, amplifies the realities that rarely make the headlines.
And from time to time, we hold those in power to account, not with polls or pundits, but with the lived truths of our people. When the Prime Minister says the cost of living is improving, we ask whānau if that’s real. This week, you fired back.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: “On the cost of living: Is the Prime Minister out of touch?”
“They’re Not Listening to Us”: Whānau Fire Back at PM’s Cost of Living Claims.
Māori whānau, solo māmā, kaumātua, rangatahi, the people most hurt by policy, responded to our question with fierce clarity: “On the cost of living: Is the Prime Minister out of touch?”
“He’s on another planet,” wrote one.
“Out of touch since get-go,” said another.
“You can’t budget your way out of a hole if your government is making the hole bigger.”
These aren’t throwaway lines. They’re the realities of whānau who are skipping meals, rationing electricity, living in overcrowded homes, or sleeping in their cars. One person simply wrote: “Marmite is a luxury. I’ve switched to peanut butter for the protein.” Another added, “I’m lucky I’ve got a mandarin tree. It’s that bad.”
At the National Party AGM in Christchurch on the weekend, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was full of optimism. “We are making massive progress,” he told party members. “We’ve frozen petrol taxes. We’ve delivered income tax relief. We are backing Kiwis who back themselves.”
But outside that hall, on Facebook and in front of cold heaters, more than 170 Waatea followers were saying the opposite.
“He’s not backing us. He’s not even seeing us.”
Many pointed to the systemic grind, not Netflix, Ubers or bad budgeting, but rising food prices, power bills, housing insecurity and state neglect.
And the data backs them up. Since March 2020, median rents have increased by 25 percent, from $510 to $640 a week, according to Trade Me. Food prices continue to rise too, with Stats NZ reporting 3.5 percent annual food inflation as of March 2025. But when asked about the 90 percent rise in homelessness reported by Auckland Council since emergency housing rules were tightened, Housing Minister Chris Bishop replied: “I don’t accept that… That’s not what the official analysis shows… but there’s a range of views out there.”
Then came the real admission: “We’ve made it harder to get in, and that was a deliberate policy choice.”
Deliberate. And consequential.
From our Facebook whānau: “They shut the motels but didn’t open the houses. So where are our people supposed to go?”
“They’re building prisons, not homes.”
“Our kids are cold. That’s the reality.”
Bishop says he’s “open to tweaking” policy but “doesn’t really want to.” He claims 2,200 tamariki have been moved out of motels, but didn’t say where they went. And when asked by Q+A’s Jack Tame if it was a funding issue, Bishop replied: “It’s not a money issue. It’s a systems issue.”
For our people, that distinction means nothing. “Fix it,” one follower wrote. “Stop talking and fix it.”
Another said: “He (Luxon) talks about dairy exports and tax reform. We’re just trying to afford cheese.”
And another: “He owns 10 houses. Of course, he’s out of touch.”
What Luxon didn’t say at the AGM spoke volumes too. There was no mention of homelessness. No recognition of Māori. No reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Just tax cuts and talk of unleashing the economy, for someone else’s New Zealand.
Inside the party conference, the Prime Minister declared: “We’re delivering for New Zealanders.”
But outside, in the responses we heard from whānau, the message was clear: “Not for us,” said one mother. “We’re still cold, still waiting, still fighting.”
And like generations before us, we’ll keep fighting, until they see us, hear us, and finally deliver for all of Aotearoa, not just the privileged few.
