——生活成本持续挤压普通家庭，现政府的经济政策必须接受检验

在新西兰生活，经济好不好，不仅要看股市涨跌、财政报表和经济增长数字，更要看普通百姓的钱包。

开车要加油，吃饭要买面包、黄油和肉类，每个月要缴电费、付房租、还房贷。这些都是无法轻易削减的基本开支。当生活必需品不断挤压家庭预算，越来越多人不得不精打细算，甚至为每个月的账单发愁时，政府就不能只谈经济复苏，而回避民众的真实感受。

新西兰统计局数据显示，截至2026年6月的一年，消费者价格指数上涨4.1%，超过储备银行1%至3%的中期通胀目标区间上限。同期汽油价格同比上涨27.5%。截至8月的一年，电费上涨9%，肉类、禽类及鱼类价格上涨3.4%。根据10月14日的全国平均参考价格，91号汽油约为每升3.59纽元，汽车加满50升就要花费约179纽元。

这些数字背后，是普通家庭越来越沉重的生活账单。

当然，国际油价、全球供应链和能源市场变化，并非新西兰政府能够完全控制。但政府的经济政策是否有效，不能只看财政支出有没有减少、债务有没有控制，还必须看政策能否改善就业、提高实际购买力、保障公共服务，并减轻家庭的基本生活负担。

财政纪律不应凌驾于民生之上，经济复苏更不能只是报表上的数字。

如果政府强调控制开支，却未能充分缓解生活成本压力；如果家庭的工资收入赶不上必要开支，公共服务的压力又进一步转嫁给个人，那么现行经济政策就有必要接受严肃检验。政府必须解释：政策的收益由谁获得，调整的成本又由谁承担？

我们不否认新西兰经济面临的客观挑战，也不认为所有物价上涨都应归咎于单一原因。但这恰恰要求政府拿出更有针对性、更有效的措施，而不是把国际环境当作解释一切困难的理由。

政府应当把能源供应与电价、住房可负担性、食品市场竞争、就业和实际工资增长放在更加突出的位置，并以可衡量的民生改善作为政策成效的重要标准。

一个国家的经济政策是否成功，最终要看普通人能否负担住房、买得起食品、支付得起电费，并在辛勤工作之后保有基本的生活尊严。

当越来越多家庭为日常开支承受沉重压力时，这不仅是生活成本问题，更是对政府经济治理能力的严肃考验。现政府必须正视政策效果与民众生活感受之间的落差，认真检讨经济政策，拿出切实可行的解决方案。

人民需要的不是漂亮的经济口号，而是实实在在的生活改善。


Petrol Is Dearer, Food Costs More, Power Bills Are Rising and Rents Remain a Burden: When Will the Cost-of-Living Crisis Ease in New Zealand?

The growing pressure on ordinary households demands serious scrutiny of the Government’s economic policies.

In New Zealand, the true state of the economy cannot be judged solely by sharemarket performance, fiscal accounts or headline growth figures. It must also be measured by what remains in people’s pockets after they have paid their bills.

Petrol is essential for getting to work. Bread, butter and meat are everyday necessities. Electricity bills must be paid, rent must be covered, and homeowners must continue to pay their mortgages. These are unavoidable costs that leave many households with little room to manoeuvre. As these unavoidable costs consume an ever-greater share of household budgets, more people are being forced to watch every dollar and worry about making ends meet. The Government cannot continue to talk about economic recovery while overlooking the financial realities facing ordinary New Zealanders.

Statistics New Zealand reported that consumer prices rose by 4.1 per cent in the year to June 2026, exceeding the Reserve Bank’s medium-term inflation target range of 1 to 3 per cent. Over the same period, petrol prices rose by 27.5 per cent. In the year to August, electricity prices increased by 9 per cent, while prices for meat, poultry and fish rose by 3.4 per cent. According to national average price data available on 14 October, 91-octane petrol cost approximately NZ$3.59 a litre. Filling a 50-litre tank therefore cost around NZ$179.

Behind these figures lies a growing burden on ordinary households.

Of course, international oil prices, global supply chains and developments in energy markets are not entirely within the New Zealand Government’s control. But the effectiveness of its economic policies cannot be judged simply by whether public spending has been reduced or debt brought under control. It must also be measured by whether those policies create jobs, strengthen purchasing power, protect essential public services and ease the cost of everyday living.

Fiscal discipline must not come at the expense of people’s livelihoods, and economic recovery must amount to more than figures on a balance sheet.

If the Government emphasises spending restraint without adequately easing cost-of-living pressures, and if household incomes fail to keep pace with essential expenses while the burden on public services increasingly falls on individuals, then the effectiveness of its current economic policies deserves serious examination. The Government must answer a fundamental question: who benefits from its policies, and who bears the cost of adjustment?

We do not deny the objective challenges facing New Zealand’s economy, nor do we suggest that every price increase can be attributed to a single cause. But these challenges make it all the more important for the Government to adopt effective, targeted measures, rather than treating international conditions as a blanket explanation for every domestic difficulty.

Energy security and electricity affordability, access to reasonably priced housing, competition in food retailing, employment opportunities and real wage growth must all receive greater attention. Progress should be judged by measurable improvements in people’s lives, not merely by macroeconomic indicators.

The ultimate test of economic policy is whether ordinary people can afford a home, put food on the table, pay their electricity bills and retain a basic measure of financial security after an honest week’s work.

When increasing numbers of households are struggling to meet everyday expenses, this is no longer simply a cost-of-living issue. It is a serious test of the Government’s economic stewardship. The present Government must confront the gap between its policy objectives and people’s lived experience, review the effectiveness of its approach and deliver practical solutions.

The people of New Zealand need more than reassuring economic rhetoric. They need tangible improvements in their daily lives.