This government promised to get the economy back on track & tackle the cost of living. On both measures, it is failing. Working New Zealanders & their families are hurting – and the promised recovery keeps being pushed back. New Zealand needs a plan – not more promises of green shoots

Wages are falling behind the cost of living, and the government’s response is to cut the real value of the minimum wage, and ask essential workers like Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, & Fire Fighters to take another real pay cut. The Government is dangerously out of touch with the reality right now

This data should be a wake-up call for a complacent government that is doing nothing to alleviate the problems being faced by working New Zealanders. Ministers are removing benefits from 18- & 19-year-olds, at the same time as youth unemployment is ballooning

Unemployment in NZ is now well above the OECD average (4.9%), the UK (4.7%), Oz (4.3%), and the US (4.2%). There were 2.58 million fewer hours worked than 2 years ago, and 39,000 fewer people are in full-time work. 160,000 people unemployed – the highest number since March 1994

Wages increased at their lowest rate for 5 years, the Labour Cost Index showed wage inflation of 2.1% - well below CPI inflation of 3%. 44% of workers saw no pay increase and 68% saw a pay increase below inflation. Both public & private wages are growing at less than inflation

Unemployment is particularly acute for young people – with 15,500 more 15-24 year olds unemployed than at the election. Māori unemployment is 10.5%, Pasifika is 12.1%. A record 406,000 people are underutilised – meaning that they want more work or access to work but can’t get it

Tomorrow we get labour market data. Expect some people to point to the job ad data as a sign that the 'worst is behind us'. It's not - not for the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders needing work. We aren't 'back on track' and this data doesn't change that.

With 400,000 people wanting more work and not being able to get it - small shifts in job ads won't cut it. There are 36,309 more people on Jobseeker over the past two years (217,818 in Sep 2025), and the only plan is to take it away from 18/19 year olds.

To call it green shoots would be a mistake. It might better be described as bouncing on the bottom of the cliff. There are some other things we don't know:
- How many of the job ads are full-time?
- How many people are chasing each job?
- What is the pay for these jobs?
- How many jobs are needed?

Across all skills levels job ads are down across two years. But low/unskilled jobs have been hit particularly hard. How much this is due to changing employment patterns in the economy is unclear. The loss of highly skilled job ads might explain some of our migration issues

Across 10 jobs sectors measured by MBIE job ads are down across 2 years.
- Down 27% in construction
- Down 33% in health
- Down 31% in IT
- Down 35% in manufacturing
- Down 30% in sales

Even down 16% in primary industries

MBIE measures job ads across 10 regions. Across 2 years (Sept 2023) Job ads are down in every region.
- Down 34% in Auckland
- Down 35% in Wellington
- Down 32% in Manwatu/Whanganui
- Down 33% in Northland
- Down 26% in Waikato

Down everywhere

Is the proposed CGT perfect? No - no taxation system anywhere in the world is perfect. Would the proposed CGT improve the current situation in NZ? Categorically. There is a huge job needed to repair the damage of National's reckless and unfunded tax giveaways

The proposed CGT doesn't apply to Kiwisaver investments - meaning savers will be more incentivised to save for the long-run rather than for short-term gain. Over time income from a CGT builds - meaning more money to support health as the population ages and has higher needs.

Using the money to help pay for GP fees is real cost-of-living support. A GP visit usually costs between $60-$80, making that worth up to $240 a year in savings. That is twice the value of the tax cut given to pensioners at Budget 24 - $2.15 a week.
web.archive.org/web/20250509...

A list of notorious left-wing organisations supporting a CGT in New Zealand
- NZ Treasury
- OECD
- IMF
- Chartered Accountants Australia & NZ
- CEO ANZ
- Former CEO BNZ
- The New Zealand Public when recently polled:
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

New Zealand is almost unique in the advanced economies in not having a CGT - yet it is New Zealand that is investment starved, not them. If not having a CGT had worked we should be awash with investment cash. Positively underwater with it. Sadly reader, we are not.

We currently have an incredibly skewed taxation system where property gains pay no tax, yet income pays tax on every dollar. This tax helps level the playing field, and move investments into more productive assets like plant, machinery and equipment. Something we desperately need