“With today’s 8 per cent increase, it has now been two years since Kiwis had even the slightest bit of relief at the checkout. We can either carry on the same direction until a loaf of bread becomes a luxury item, or we can get rid of the waste driving inflation and sort out the regulations that make it so hard to produce. ACT will do the latter,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“New Zealand managed to go almost 24 years without a 12 per cent annual increase in the price of food, as of June this year there were five Food Price Indexes in a row above that mark.

“October 2021 was the last time a decrease was recorded, but that was only 0.1 per cent and followed eight months of steady increases prior.

“People say that paying for their 'top-up shop' at the checkout feels like their weekly shop. There is real anger and resentment that people who save carefully and try to do everything right find themselves having to make hard choices thanks to endlessly rising prices.

“The problem is wasteful government spending. The Government has spent so much taxpayers’ money on unnecessary projects the only outcome was higher inflation. Kiwis will happily see the end of projects like Jobs for Nature ($1.2 billion), Auckland Light Rail ($14.6-29 billion) or Let’s Get Wellington Moving ($6.4 billion) if it means they can afford to put food on the table.

“ACT’s fully costed Alternative Budget identifies a full $25.5 billion in savings over four years. These are essential to get debt down, reduce inflation, and reduce interest rates and ease pressure on food prices.

“Without savings like this, it will be impossible for the next Government to balance a budget. Without a balanced budget, more Government spending will only further add to inflation and food prices. That’s why Kiwis struggling to put food on the table need a fiscal conscience in the next Government, and the fiscal conscience is ACT.

“In order to have more competition New Zealand needs to be an attractive destination for investment.

“That means repealing and replacing the Resource Management Act to make it easier to build new supermarkets, and exempting OECD members from the Overseas Investment Act, allowing foreign supermarket chains to invest in New Zealand with certainty.

“ACT will also sort out the regulatory pressure that makes it so hard to produce anything in New Zealand, leading to price increases. ACT is proposing a new Minister and Ministry of Regulation to ensure new and existing regulations meet tough new standards and would put red tape on the chopping block.

“Until something is done about wasteful spending and unnecessary regulations on producers then we can expect a monthly increase to the grocery bill to just become part of life. ACT doesn’t accept that, we will end the waste and fix the economy.”

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