The price of food is high on the list of concerns for Whanganui citizens, according to local MP candidates. Photo / 123rf
This week, we asked a group of Whanganui leaders what key issues are facing the region ahead of the 2023 general election.
Chief among those issues were residents’ difficulties with the cost of living. Finn Williams asked candidates for the Whanganui electorate what they plan to do about it.
Labour candidate and incumbent Whanganui MP Steph Lewis said she had a meeting with the manager of City Mission Whanganui, who told her more people were requiring their services than usual.
“That’s a sign that people are struggling at the moment to put food on the table,” she said.
The cost of housing was also contributing to people’s struggles, which Lewis had worked to address by advocating for more houses to be built in Whanganui.
“That’s an issue I’ve been working really hard on. We’ve got almost 200 in the pipeline now through Kāinga Ora.
“That increase of housing supply locally will help bring the cost of housing down.”
She was concerned by National’s plans to let foreign investors back into the market for some properties.
“[This] would heat up the housing market and push the cost of housing up again for families, so that does really concern me,” she said.
National plans on allowing foreign investors back into the property market for properties over $2 million as a way to raise revenue for tax cuts.
National’s Whanganui candidate Carl Bates said the cost of living was the number one issue for people during his door-knocking, especially the price of food.
“People are telling me their grocery bills have gone through the roof and what they used to be able to buy ... they can no longer,” he said.
He said the cause of the increases came down to overspending by central government, causing inflation to rise.
On a local level, this had impacted Whanganui residents by forcing the council to introduce high rates increases, which he said had been felt by homeowners and renters.
“The inflation rate for local government is significantly higher than the reported inflation rate because of the sort of products they’ve had to buy,” Bates said.
The way to bring down costs in Whanganui would be to reduce government spending, bring inflation under control and stop the efforts toward centralisation.
“As services and head office staff are put in Auckland and Wellington, it takes from regional New Zealand, which takes from our economy here,” he said.
A local example of this was the Te Pūkenga polytechnic system, which he said had taken money out of the Whanganui/Manawatū region.
Green candidate Marion Sanson highlighted how the ongoing effects of climate change contribute to the cost of living.
“Climate change is going to push up the cost of living and it’s going to be an ongoing and accelerating cost,” she said.
This was especially true of food, as we rely on consistent weather patterns to produce food.
As weather patterns change and become more extreme due to climate change, food production will become more difficult, which will lead to the price of food increasing further.
“That’s going to make it harder for our growers.”
Because of this, she said it was in everyone’s interest to curb global greenhouse emissions and keep the average global temperature below 1.5C of further warming.
The elevated cost of living especially hurts people on the minimum wage, which is why she advocated for the implementation of a living wage of $26 as a baseline for local employees.
“It’s not fair at all for an employer to take on someone and pay them the minimum wage - it’s not a viable business if an employer can’t pay a living wage to his or her staff.”
Act candidate Craig Dredge said the cost of living had put particular strain on older people, who had sometimes had to choose between food and heating.
“A lot of people can’t afford that kai, and that’s a massive issue,” he said.
Food banks were under strain as well.
The cost of petrol being close to $3 per litre has also affected people’s travel options.
“People aren’t able to run their vehicles as much, or at least have any quality of life [in] that they can get out and about ... [and some] have to choose to stay home rather than go out,” he said.
He said the solution to issues related to the cost of living was to cut unnecessary government spending and regulation.
“It’s that simple. Make it so the Government doesn’t put so much red tape in the way - that starts to lift costs,” he said.
Animal Justice Party candidate Sandra Kyle said she experienced the local effects of the increased cost of living personally, with food prices again being a major factor.
“I have nine animals and [the price of] pet food has just soared, so it’s a bit of a struggle for me,” she said.
She said the Animal Justice Party had yet to establish any policies concerning the cost of living and was primarily concerned with advocating for animal rights.
However, she believed the economy should be restructured into a circular model which revolved around sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing products for as long as possible.
“Ideally, to have a fair and just New Zealand for everyone, we have to change the economy,” she said.
NZ First candidate William Arnold has been contacted for comment.
Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.