With domestic inflation hitting an all-time high, the Government needs to make urgent changes to stop Kiwis going backwards says National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis.

Inflation data released this morning by Statistics New Zealand show prices rose 7.3 per cent in the last year, the fastest rate since 1990.

"Today's data shows what any Kiwi family can confirm - rising prices are smashing household budgets. With every sector of the economy straining under cost pressures, there's nowhere to hide from Labour’s cost of living crisis.

“Domestic – or non-tradable – inflation is at its highest level since the series began in 2000. Inflation is getting a firm grip on our economy.

“Labour keeps blaming international events like the war in Ukraine but refuses to take responsibility for their policy failures at home.

"We have been calling on the Government to present a plan to fight inflation for months. Spending more and announcing temporary measures won’t cut it. Spending billions to fight runaway inflation just puts more fuel on the fire, pushing up inflation and interest rates.

“Treasury explicitly told Grant Robertson that, ‘a large portion of New Zealand’s inflation at present is being driven by strong domestic demand’ and that his high levels of spending are making the situation worse. Instead of listening to this advice, he ignored it. Kiwis are paying the price.

"A real plan would focus on strengthening the productive economy and unlocking the bottlenecks in the economy that are worsening inflation, including fixing failed immigration settings and stopping adding costs to business.

"It's not as if this problem has crept up on them. Inflation has now been outside the Reserve Bank's target range for 15 months running. If the Government doesn’t start taking it seriously the risk is that it could be here for many more months to come.

"Lurching from crisis to press conference with knee-jerk responses isn't good enough. Kiwis deserve a Government that can present a plan on the economy that enables everyone to get ahead, instead of relying on temporary band-aid payments and gimmicky policy making.

“The Government should adopt National’s five-point plan to fight inflation and strengthen our economy – return the Reserve Bank to a single focus on price stability, reduce costs on business, remove bottlenecks in the economy, restore discipline to Government spending, and prioritise tax relief for workers.”

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