“Data released today by Stats NZ shows that low-income, beneficiary, and superannuitant households are bearing the brunt of ongoing price rises and the failure of Luxon’s Government to address the cost of living”, says Sandra Grey, New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi President.
Annual household living-costs inflation for the ‘all households’ category was 3 percent in the September 2026 quarter. Households in the lowest fifth of the income distribution experienced living-costs inflation of 3.4 percent and superannuitant households 4 percent. By contrast, households in the highest fifth of the income distribution experienced an increase of 2.7 percent.
“Over the last three years, living costs have gone up 11.5 percent for low-income households and 12 percent for superannuitants. Incomes simply haven’t kept up”, says Grey.
“This is because the cost of essentials has been driving inflation under Luxon,” says Grey. “Electricity, council rates and services, and healthcare services have all continued to increase unsustainably in cost. The smaller your income, the larger the proportion of it that must go on essentials”.
Annually, electricity is up 9.3 percent, council rates and services 6.2 percent, medical services 3 percent, and petrol 19.1 percent. Some grocery staples have exploded in price, with bread up 8 percent, breakfast cereals 7.1 percent, and milk 7.7 percent.
“Lower- and fixed-income households are having to decide which essential items they will go without each week – it’s no wonder we are seeing high levels of food insecurity and rising hardship and deprivation in our communities”, says Grey.
“The Luxon Government has clearly failed to get on top of rising prices. Equally, it has failed to support adequate wage growth. NZCTU analysis published this week has shown that real wages have fallen for low-income households over the past three years”, says Grey.
“We’ve had three years of real-term cuts to the minimum wage. Depending on the price deflator used, the real minimum wage has fallen by between 4.3 and 6.7 percent over this term of Government. In 2026, minimum-wage workers are earning at least $2,000 less than they would need just to keep up with rising prices”, says Grey.
“The Luxon Government has completely failed on the cost of living, and it is those who have the least in our society who have borne the brunt of this failure”, says Grey.
