From the press room
Dunne: 10% food price hike hurting NZ families – 2009-02-12 14:19:30.914
The 10 percent increase in food prices in the past year illustrates the financial burden being faced by New Zealand families and keeping them in jobs is the best way to fight it, Revenue Minister and UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne said today.
“This rise over the past year drives many households quite literally closer to the breadline, and in many cases, below it, which means the Government has to do more than just smooth the rough edges,” Mr Dunne said.
Statistics New Zealand released figures this morning showing that food prices had risen 10 percent in the year to January.
Mr Dunne said that some may try to use the statistics to reignite the debate over removing GST from food items, but that is impractical.
“The answer is to help businesses retain staff and individuals retain as much of their own money as possible through responsible and timely income tax cuts.
“While the Government has raised the minimum wage this week, the best assistance we can give New Zealand families in the medium to long-term is to help as many people keep their jobs as we can.”
“For this reason, I believe the upcoming Employment Summit is critical opportunity for the Government to listen to industry leaders, business owners and union representatives on how they plan to manage staffing levels during the downturn,” Mr Dunne said.
“In turn, the Government needs to show that it is prepared to support struggling industries and help them avoid wholesale staffing cuts.
“Given the urgency of the situation facing many New Zealand families, we need to guarantee that this summit is more than a talk-fest,” he said.
“It needs to be the first step in an ongoing and open strategy involving both the public and private sector, and with input from all political parties,” Mr Dunne said.