Kerre Woodham: The Greens' fuel relief package should be seriously considered

In today's edition of Fuel Watch, the Green Party is offering its votes to the National Party to get on with passing what the Greens call a sensible and urgent fossil fuel crisis relief package.

And you know what, it is quite sensible.

They're not suggesting a horse and cart for every home - that's sensible. With the Greens and National's combined 63 votes, the Greens say you don't need any other political party to get this through.

Their proposed package includes making public transport free for users, not forever, just while the Straits of Hormuz are compromised, a relief payment for low income people or people who live rurally to help meet additional transport costs, a windfall profits tax to prevent corporate price gouging, that's particularly Green, I think you'd be fair to say, reversing changes to school bus eligibility and routes, temporary expansion of eligibility for school buses, reversing the government's intended reduction in total mobility support for disabled people, and increasing the mileage rates to the 23,000 care and support workers to meet their actual travel costs, which we discussed the other day.

Now, none of these are particularly silly, are they?

Chlöe Swarbrick, the Green Party co leader, says New Zealanders expect politicians to do everything we can to support people through this immediate crisis and to minimise future vulnerability by reducing fossil fuel dependence. And she's not wrong.

You know, normally we would probably be able to weather this particular storm. It won't last forever, there'll be a resolution one way or the other.

And, normally families would be able to accommodate this, but it's been five years of scrimping and saving and compromising for many, many working families.

You know, they've had to cope with inflation and increases in mortgage payments or rents, increased food costs, increased insurance, increased rates, things that you simply cannot compromise on.

These are things you have to have, they're not nice-to-haves, they're must-haves, and it's been tough going.

And for many families, this is like the straw that breaks the camel's back.

It wouldn't be forever, the sort of relief they're talking about.

It wouldn't be, I suppose they'd quite like to see, you know, public transport being free forever, but you know, I think that's not what they've said.

They've said that there are people right now who are hurting, who cannot, cannot make any further compromises in their budgets, and they need assistance.

I don't think there's a lot wrong with what they're suggesting.

I know this coalition government, quite rightly, is wary of throwing money out to all and sundry, as we saw with the Covid spend up, but I'm absolutely certain they have the tools and the philosophy to target assistance where it should be targeted, as the Prime Minister bangs on, you know, timely, targeted, and temporary.

So that's precisely what the Greens are suggesting. Nicola Willis, the Finance Minister, has ruled out across the board price cuts, fair enough, not everybody does need support.

We grabbed the PM on his way out after chatting to Mike and said, well come on, what about the Greens? And he said, "yes, yes, yes, we're already working on some of these measures", but all very well and good. 

The people who need support needed it last week, not yes, yes, yes, we're working on it, you know, in the future. People need it now to get to work. And people are willing to use the buses.

I don't know what's happening in your city, but in Auckland, it recorded its busiest day on public transport in seven years, and that was last Tuesday. 7,000 more trips than the previous busiest day, which was two weeks ago.

So people are, are feeling it.

And if they can make alternative transport arrangements, they will. And if they find, through trying out public transport, that it actually works for them, that's got to benefit everybody.

The road users, public transport, people's pockets.

Just because the Greens suggest something, I don't think it should be dismissed or snorted at, you take every suggestion on its merits, and in this particular case, I think the Greens have got a point.

I note that their targeted assistance didn't cover the food producers, and I think they could probably do with a break.

I think John talked about that when he was doing the show.

You know, and they may well be able to get through this without having to hoick the prices up too much.

I suppose it's a bit much to expect the Greens to offer targeted assistance to food producers. They seem to think we should all be breatharians, but does this cover off the Green's suggestion, the public transport free for users for a certain amount of time, a relief payment for low income people or people who live rurally, increasing the mileage rates for the care and support workers?

I don't see that as being particularly egregiously extravagant or silly or nonsensical.

These are the people who need help, who need it now, and who need that help while the oil prices are going through the roof and consequently the price at the pump is going through the roof.

There's only so much people can take, and they've taken a lot, these working families, for the last five to six years.

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