The government borrowed a leaf from the opposition’s book yesterday with a save and spend announcement that saw more policies heaped upon the pyre and benefits lifted, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.
More policy binned and benefits lifted
We usually only get this much alliterative B word magic on Budget day but prime minister Chris Hipkins is sticking with the idiomatic “bread and butter” and the word “bonfire” is better in headlines than “bin”. If Christopher Luxon took a leaf out of Labour’s book the other week with the early childhood education and consultant spending cuts announcement, Labour took a leaf out of National’s by delivering a “save and spend” announcement yesterday that set more policies aside and allocated an extra $311m to increase benefits in line with inflation. Jettisoned policies include: the clean car rebate, legislation to lower the voting age, alcohol reform, a recycling container return scheme and a review of who should be considered a “contractor”, “employee” or “consultant”. Stuff’’s Glenn McConnell has a breakdown.
Food prices saw their biggest increase over the last year since 1989
Kudos to the Herald’s Claire Trevett for just leaning into the language at hand and sticking the landing in her assessment of yesterday’s announcement (paywalled) by quoting the literal cost of bread and butter from yesterday’s Stats NZ food price index data. Trevett writes that the “bonfire is slowly starting to starve National of things to attack Labour on” and that Hipkins has more to come with the Budget in May. Food prices saw their biggest increase over the last year since 1989, so the increase to benefits needed to be more than business-as-usual adjustments. The Herald’s Michael Neilson breaks down the boost to benefit levels.
Cost of living issue most likely to influence voters at election
Last night’s 1News Kantar poll now has Labour in a position to govern in coalition with the Green party and Te Pāti Māori. Hipkins got a 4% increase in the preferred prime minister rankings and is now at 27%, while Luxon has fallen 5% to 17%. The poll also canvassed which issues were most likely to influence the way people vote and 48% of New Zealanders said the cost of living. Climate change came in second but at 12%, it’s a long way behind. While a couple of commentators have posited this year might be the “climate change election”, unfortunately, and despite the floods and cyclone, that looks as likely as making fetch happen. Former Green party MP Gareth Hughes was one such commentator, and he now says “This will be the cost of living election for sure.”
“We keep making short-term decisions at the expense of the future. It drives me nuts”
In April 2022, a press release from environment minister David Parker announced that the government had plans to “transform recycling”. Three schemes were touted and now one, the container return scheme, is gone for sure. It’s just one of the numerous measures promoted by the Green party to come a cropper yesterday. Green party co-leader James Shaw, admitted to Toby Manhire yesterday that he is “pissed off” and has been for a while. “It’s just exasperating and disappointing that we keep making short-term decisions at the expense of the future. It drives me nuts,” he said. Last night’s 4% poll bounce for the Greens, taking them to 11%, may provide something of a balm. Newsroom’s Jo Moir describes yesterday’s policy purge as “a depressing reminder of how cynical politics can be.”