The Māori Authority is calling for a price freeze on essential items as the cost of living skyrockets.
The Chair of the New Zealand Māori Council, Matthew Tukaki, said many people in vulnerable homes and communities are struggling.
Tukaki believes there need to be universal restrictions on the quantities of some goods. He reminded people that while there is plenty to go around, some whānau just do not have the means to afford even the basics.
"I have said before that we must be mindful of the cost of living increasing and more to the point that while an immense amount of work has been done to increase the minimum wage the reality is that everyone is under pressure," Tukaki said.
"Lifting wages will always be the best idea but with many small businesses struggling right now the only other mechanism is to lock in prices for essential items - that includes bread, milk, flour, sanitary and personal health products - everyday consumables that people rely on right now."
The calls come after it was announced inflation had its biggest increase in 31 years - up 5.9 percent last year.
"Everything has gone up - whether that is timber, steel, insulation and cladding. The whole lot, building and petrol stations," the chief executive of Master Builders Association David Kelly said.
Annual inflation is the highest it's been since June 1990, with housing and transport being the biggest contributors.
According to Stats NZ, prices for new house builds rose 16 percent compared to 2020, rent was also up 3.8 percent overall and fuel soared by 30 percent.
Stats NZ data also revealed that 42 percent of kiwis didn't get a pay rise last year and if they did it was less than inflation.
Tukaki said people's only option should not be to line up at food banks and has called for the price freezes to be in place for the next six months.
"We are dealing with a lift in inflation, we are dealing with increasing housing prices and even the price to fill the car up has increased," he said.
"Everything on the table or in the cupboard that consumers rely on is hitting the hip pocket and it's not just families and whānau I am worried about - it's our elderly and our disabled, those who are already struggling on low weekly rates of pay or income."
Tukaki believes price freezes might be needed for more than just the essentials.
"Another lever that we might need to look at is also freezing in the rental market for a period of time and while these suggestions might not be palatable to everyone we need to have a conversation now about what is happening at the moment with an increasing rate of vulnerability in the community," he said.
"And by the way the stereotypical vulnerable whānau is not just those on low wages - I'm also talking about the massive rump of middle-class Kiwis who are robbing Peter to pay Paul every week with laboured debt.
"At the very least we also need a much longer-term fiscal plan about the three key components of our prudent financial policy - managing cost of living increases, increasing wages and managing inflation."
