Data from Retail NZ showing retailers expect prices to rise 7.5 per cent in the next three months should be a wake-up call for the Government, says National’s Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis.

“This price-hike warning will send another wave of anxiety through squeezed Kiwi households already struggling to keep up with the soaring cost of living.

“The survey is a stark reminder of how hard it is for small businesses across the country right now, with many at breaking point and more than a third fearing they won’t survive the year.

“It’s time for the Government to listen to the pleas of employers and to stop adding costs to their operations. 

“Pressured small businesses, still recovering from the global pandemic and with customers who are closing their wallets, have been pummelled by new costs imposed by Labour.

“Red traffic light restrictions, big minimum wage hikes, a new public holiday – it all adds up. When the Government adds costs on businesses, Kiwi consumers end up paying.

“Labour seems to think small businesses have an endless capacity to absorb the costs imposed by Government. They can’t – most have no choice but to claw most of these extra costs back through higher prices. 

“New Zealand is in the middle of the worst cost of living crisis in a generation and it’s set to accelerate ever further. This is the worst possible time for the Government to impose a new jobs tax and complex mandated union-negotiated sector-wide employment agreements.

“The Government needs to hit the pause button on costly new schemes. The Finance Minister should pay attention to the New Zealanders who generate the wealth in our economy and declare a moratorium on costly new policies and regulations that could add to the cost of living crisis.”