Source: Radio New Zealand
Finance Minister Nicola Willis explains government’s plan as petrol prices increase. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
A woman who works overnight shifts as a cleaner at Auckland Airport says she is feeling the effects of surging petrol prices.
The Finance Minister said she was looking at targeted, temporary support for some households if the Middle East conflict worsened.
Nicola Willis said the help could be available, for example, to a cleaner needing to drive to work early in the morning when there was no public transport.
E tū union member Ayesha Paki had a roughly 30-minute drive, six days a week, to her job at Auckland Airport.
“Everything is expensive and now the petrol has affected all of us cleaners and low pay workers. We are so worried,” she said.
Paki, who worked 10pm to 6am shifts, said it was a very tough time.
“Petrol is going up everytime I go in my car,” she said.
“We are renting and we have to pay the bills, electricity, put the food on the table, it’s hard for us.”
Paki said any government support would be appreciated.
“If our wages go up it will be easier for us. That’s why we fight for our Fair Pay agreement but then they scrapped it, and we cleaners are suffering and struggling.”
On Monday, Willis said the government was “anticipating, and to the extent possible mitigating the impact on the New Zealand economy, including what could potentially be acute cost of living pressures for some households”.
“From the government’s point of view, we need to ensure that any support we provide to households is temporary, is targeted and is timely,” she said.
Willis said official advice was that reducing fuel excise would “send the wrong signal” and not be sufficiently targeted.
Willis said her household would not need as much help financially as others, using the example of a South Auckland airport cleaner who could not take the bus to work.
“We need to make sure that we have in mind those New Zealanders who face the most acute cost of living pressures rather than having blanket responses which tie up a lot of others.”
She would not give a price petrol would have to reach at the pump before the government would take action, saying prices had been higher in the past.
“I am working with the Treasury and we will have a range of options,” she said, which would be discussed with Cabinet. She said whatever the government did would have to be prudent and not contribute to inflation.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
