Election 2026: National despairs at Labour’s ‘sad’ Cost of Luxon attack
New Zealand's Labour Party has launched a 'Cost of Luxon' campaign, blaming the current government for rising household costs. The National Party has dismissed these claims, citing their own economic record and accusing Labour of fiscal irresponsibility.
Why it matters
This exchange reflects the intensifying political debate over economic management and cost-of-living crises ahead of the 2026 election.
National campaign chairman Simeon Brown says Labour is “throwing stones about the cost of living” as Chris Hipkins’ party alleges a sharp rise in costs during Christopher Luxon’s time as Prime Minister.
Labour campaign chair Kieran McAnulty this morning released the party’s “Cost of Luxon” document, claiming a family with two children was paying $6235 more per year through increased prices of food, fuel, power, healthcare, transport and hikes to an array of fees and levies.
Hipkins later conceded the party’s calculations did not include reductions in mortgage rates or the Government’s tax cuts.
He dismissed any suggestion rising costs could be explained by the consequences of the US-Iran conflict, saying Luxon didn’t acknowledge the same influence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Covid pandemic on the cost of living while Labour was in power.
Also covering this story
2 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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