Reddit users are rejecting the Prime Minister's claim the current cost of living in New Zealand isn't a crisis.
A Reddit thread started on Monday, responding to an AM interview with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern where she denied New Zealand had a cost of living crisis, shows the current hardship Kiwis are going through amid record levels of inflation.
One user said Ardern was "simply ignoring facts", while another called it a "piss poor take" given food, petrol, rent and house prices were "skyrocketing".
"How is this not a cost of living crisis?"
Another Reddit user said while there were benefits in Ardern remaining positive, "I think this is way off the mark".
The user wrote that Ardern needed to be honest about the challenges facing New Zealanders.
"For anyone on a less than average income, buying basic food, petrol, renting, utilities etc, is fast becoming out of reach, and that's a big f**king problem that we need to be talking about."
In another comment, a user described being able to "feed myself cheaper on Dominos pizza than going to the supermarket".
"Every week I have to withdrawl [sic] money from my savings to make ends meet with rent, food and petrol bills. So my full-time wage is not enough to service basic living costs without pulling money from somewhere else," another user said.
"If it's not a crisis what is it cause I feel crisis point and upset every day this year so far."
Kiwis are currently spending, on average, an extra $4000 to $5000 in the past 12 months on basics such as food, rent and fuel. The majority of the increase is on fuel, with an average spike of $678 per year at the pump.
In response to Ardern's cost of living comments, the Opposition has labelled the Prime Minister "out of touch" and called for tax relief.
Ardern has previously ruled removing tax on fuel, saying it would cut billions from Government spending on essential services.
