Simon Bridges National Party MP simonbridges.co.nz

Arguably, the two most important statistics in New Zealand right now are inflation, which is 5.9 per cent; and wage growth, which is 2.6 per cent. This is the highest inflation we've seen here for 30 years.

Inflation is a thief in New Zealanders' pockets, and what's clear is Kiwis are getting poorer under the Labour Government because its big spending is adding fuel to the inflationary fire. Prices are increasing at double the rate wages are growing. We know that inflation disproportionately affects those who aren't as well-off because they have less to play with; and more of what they spend each week must go to the essentials. Compounding this is that the costs of essentials such as groceries, fuel, and rent are increasing at a faster rate than the nice-to-haves.

Inflation will be around for a while. What's also true, though, is that the Government's big spending will simply push inflation even higher which will, in turn, force the Reserve Bank to hike up interest rates – higher than would otherwise be necessary. This will act as a double-whammy, hitting Kiwis in the pocket twice.

The reality is the Government can't do much in the short-term to increase wages. What it can do, though, is rein in its big spending and focus on the quality of its spending. Since taking office in 2017, Labour's spending has been 40 per cent higher than it was under National. What's more is it's planning to increase this to a staggering 68 per cent this year at $128 billion, with $6 billion in new spending.

While the Government argues international factors are causing Kiwis' rising cost of living, this simply isn't the case because the domestic part of New Zealand's inflation is also rising, while inflation in Australia is considerably lower at 3.5 per cent.

If we want New Zealanders to be better off at the end of 2022 than the start of it, Labour should rein it in, instead of continuing to raise spending.