With party election policy announcements left, right and centre, the Labour Party’s latest is the removal of GST from fruit and vegetables, which has already garnered attention for approval and disapproval.
This and removing the last Covid restrictions were also announced yesterday, ditching the seven-day isolation period if someone has Covid-19.
But is it too little, too late?
“At the moment, the advice we’ve got is we can manage Covid-19 within the existing health system,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said today while speaking with Te Ao Māori News.
This is while hospitalisations with Covid are close to 200 and over 5,000 cases were reported in the last week.
“Covid-19 will always be a risk as influenza is a risk, as are a number of other infectious diseases ... but we still ask people to be considerate of others.”
A ‘practical difference’
Not bringing in the removal of GST for fruits and vegetables earlier to help ease the cost of living had been a matter of keeping inflation down, Hipkins said. Bringing in other measures such as removing prescription charges, extending free early childcare hours and tax cuts on fuel were temporary fixes, while GST removal was a “practical difference”.
It’s an estimated $2 billion policy, and worth $5 in savings a week per household. Rather than just helping those who need it, it’s for everyone as part of Labour’s 10-point plan to ease the straining costs of essentials.
“Each individual measure isn’t going to change someone’s life but, collectively, they will make a meaningful difference.”
Hipkins isn’t fased by the loss of Kiritapu Allan and Meka Whaitiri, and remains confident that his already established female Māori MPs like Nanaia Mahuta and Willow-Jean Prime and up-and-comers can help get the Labour votes in come election day.
Despite the bumps of the political drama in his caucus the last few months, Hipkins says he and his caucus are “completely refocused”.
“I’m really confident. We’ve got a really impressive lineup. I’m very proud of the Labour Party list we’ve released.”
