The Cost of Living is Too High

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The cost of living has gone up sharply. Some of this is due to the Government.

  • The National Government increased GST to 15 percent.
  • Inflation is now at 5.3 percent. Food prices rose by 6.6 percent in a year. For those who actually got a wage increase in the last year, median increase was only 2.9 percent.
  • Except for those who benefitted most from tax cuts, take home pay has not kept pace with increased prices.
  • The wage gap with Australia has widened and now the National Party says a 30 percent gap is a ‘competitive advantage’.
  • Early childhood education costs rose 11.7 percent in the last year, fuelled by cuts in government funding rates.
  • The minimum wage went up by only 25 cents an hour in both 2010 and 2011, the lowest increase for 8 years.

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