The Front Page: Why the cost of living will be critical this election

The cost of living is hitting Kiwi families hard. Photo / 123RF

The Herald has launched a Price Tracker to spotlight the rising costs hitting New Zealanders.

This tracker will help give perspective to an issue that sparked concern among both the public and politicians in recent months.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has pledged to focus on this issue above all else, as he looks to help New Zealanders make it through the worst of this economic storm.

In doing so, Hipkins has done away with a number of Labour policies that were focused on longer-term, bigger-picture issues.

“He’s read the room and the writing was in fairly big font,” NZ Herald political editor Claire Trevett tells the Front Page podcast.

“The cost of living is such a dominant issue in voters’ minds at the moment because it’s affecting their lives every day… He’s judged, given the environment we’re in, that there is a time and place to pursue vision and legacy. And Hipkins has judged that this isn’t it if he wants to still be there in 2020.”

Some critics have suggested that the policy bonfire is actually about staying in power rather than focusing on what’s good for New Zealanders, but Trevett says it’s more complicated than this.

“One naturally follows the other,” she says.

“Hipkins would think that the needs of the country would be [best served by] a Labour Government, and if he can’t win the election, then that might mean the needs of the people wouldn’t be served. So, there’s definitely is an element of wanting to win the election here, but if they really do want to do the stuff that matters, then they have to win the election to do it.”

This in turn means that the cost of living is likely to remain the single biggest issue on the political agenda in the coming months.

Listen to the full episode of The Front Page to hear data journalist Julia Gabel share stories of those struggling, and Claire Trevett breakdown the impact of the cost of living on our politics.