Labour’s failure to tackle inflation has seen food prices skyrocket by nearly 30 per cent under their watch, National’s Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

“New data out today shows that food prices are up 8 per cent in the year to September 30.  In the six years Labour has been in government, food prices have soared by 29 per cent. Fruit and vegetables are up 33 per cent, and meat, poultry and fish are up 27 per cent.

“New Zealanders are continuing to pay the price for Labour’s economic mismanagement.

“For the last two years, New Zealanders have been crying out for a real plan to beat inflation, but Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Finance Minister Grant Robertson have failed to act. Instead, they have stoked inflation with their addiction to spending, and Band Aid economics.

“New Zealanders need a National government that has a plan to grow the economy and get it working for them.

“National will cut inflation by removing costs on business, reducing workforce shortages, delivering tax relief for hardworking Kiwis, returning the Reserve Bank to a single focus on inflation, and restoring fiscal discipline.

“To help bring down food prices, National is committed to unshackling the rural economy by cutting red tape to reduce costs on farmers, so agriculture can grow and Kiwis pay less for home-grown food at the checkout.

“To help with the cost of living, National will give hard-working New Zealanders tax relief.

“National’s Back Pocket Boost tax relief plan will increase after-tax pay for the squeezed middle, making a family with young kids in childcare up to $250 a fortnight better off, and a child-free median income worker up to $50 a fortnight better off.

“We will also not increase petrol tax in our first term.

“This election is going to be close. New Zealand can’t afford another three years of Labour – let alone three years of Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori with their plans for a wealth tax, jobs tax, trust tax, and more fuel tax.

“National will rebuild the economy to reduce the cost of living, lift incomes and deliver better public services for all New Zealanders.”