---

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e rau rangatira mā.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Warm greetings to you all.

This election is about the cost of living.

This election is about your cost of living.

It's about the couple who work full-time and still have to check their bank balance before they go to the supermarket.

The parent who is doing everything right and wants to put something aside for a holiday with the kids.

The tradie filling up the van every week and worrying about the price at the pump.

The small business owner who has kept their team on through the toughest few years they can remember.

This is middle New Zealand.

They get up, go to work, look after their families and do their best.

And right now, far too many of them are working harder than ever and still going backwards.

I won't accept that as the future of New Zealand.

I’ve spoken to so many Kiwi families recently who are doing everything right but still feel like they’re going backwards.

The emergency department nurse who is at breaking point because no matter how many hours they put in, they just can’t keep up.

The tradie who is worried that the apprentice they are working so hard to support plans to move to Australia because they can’t find enough work here.

The parents working multiple jobs, missing out on spending time with their kids, yet still struggling to pay for school camp.

There are hundreds of thousands of families like this right across this country.

They're doing everything right, but they’re not getting ahead.

They’re not after a handout. They just want it to feel like the hard work is worth it.

They are who this election is about. And they are who I'm going to fight for.

In 41 days, you can choose a government that puts people first.

You can choose three free GP visits a year. Or keep watching the cost of seeing your doctor climb.

You can choose fairer prices at the checkout. Or just another review while the supermarket giants keep calling the shots.

You can choose a lower power bill, with solar on your roof and no upfront cost. Or a power bill that's already gone up 20 percent and is still increasing.

You can choose a Prime Minister who will fight to get your costs down.

Or a Prime Minister whose response to rising prices was "cry me a river."

Let me just stop there…

"Cry me a river."

Have you ever heard anything so out of touch from a Prime Minister?

Imagine working hard all week to provide for your family, then being told, when things feel tough, "cry me a river."

It made me so angry… It still does.

Because it wasn't a one-off.

He called people doing it tough "Bottom feeders."

He told small businesses flogging their guts out trying to stay afloat "be adults."

Small business owners. Families trying to get by. Nurses. Tradies.

Is there anyone he hasn't talked down to?

People aren't asking the Prime Minister to feel sorry for them. They're asking him to do his bloody job.

The truth is, Christopher Luxon doesn't get it. He's not fit to be Prime Minister.

And I reckon, deep down, even his own MPs know it.

I've never felt more strongly in my life that the National Party is a risk to the future of this country.

Their only answer is cuts.

That’s it.

Oh… And lying about tax.

It’s bullshit.

National say they just need more time.

More time. More time for what?

More cuts? Even higher prices? More smack talk?

Christopher Luxon promised to fix the cost of living. He's had three years. He’s failed.

And ask yourself this - after three years of National, are you better off?

It costs 21 percent more to see a GP than it did three years ago.

The power bill has gone up 20 percent.

The grocery bill has skyrocketed.

Petrol is well over $3 a litre.

50,000 more people are out of work. Unemployment is at an 11-year high.

That's not a government that needs more time.

It's a government that has run out of ideas, led by a Prime Minister who is out of touch.

More time won't bring your power bill down. It won't get you in to see a doctor. It won't put money back in your pocket.

More time just means more cuts, and more costs.

The hospital with the overcrowded ED? It will get worse with another three years of National.

The time you’re waiting to see a doctor? It gets worse.

The cost of the weekly groceries? It goes up.

The power bill that’s already ridiculously expensive? It goes up.

That’s what more time means.

More cuts, more costs, and more pressure on families who are already doing everything they can.

Three parties. Three leaders. Pulling in three different directions.

Wasting time arguing with themselves about things like te Reo on government letterheads when they should be fixing the real problems you’re facing.

That's what chaos costs you.

Three more years of drift. Three more years of cuts. Three more years of higher costs.

New Zealand can't afford three more years of National.

And I'm going to give everything I’ve got to stop it.

So let me tell you what Labour will do. And I’ll start with the cost of living.

First, the supermarket.

Right now, there are two big groups with far too much power to decide what gets on the shelf and what it costs.

I'm ready to take the supermarket giants on to get you a fairer price.

We'll open up wholesale supply so smaller supermarkets can offer you a better deal at the checkout.

And we'll make price gouging illegal.

If a big company uses its power to rip you off, a Labour Government will make it pay that money back.

We’ll also take on the other bills that hit hardworking, middle New Zealand.

We'll cap public transport fares at $20 a week.

We'll freeze fuel tax for three years.

And we'll help people get solar power without any upfront cost - which will save families around $1,000 a year on their bills.

Then there's healthcare.

When you're sick, or someone you love is sick, you should be able to see a doctor, quickly and affordably.

Labour will give every New Zealander three free GP visits a year.

We’ll make prescriptions free.

And we’ll make it free to get a maternity scan.

That's real money back in your pocket every year.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking.

A free visit to the GP is no good if you can't get an appointment in the first place.

You're right.

So we're going to fix that too.

We'll help more family doctors set up local practices.

We'll free up GPs' time so they spend it with patients instead of on paperwork.

Under Labour, you won't just be able to afford the doctor.

You'll be able to get in to see one.

And…

We'll back the nurses who make our health system work.

In two years, National has added just 54 full-time nurses to our hospitals.

Fifty-four. Across the whole country.

Labour will guarantee every New Zealand trained graduate nurse a job.

The cost of living isn’t just about the prices you pay.

It’s also about whether work pays enough to cover the bills.

Right now, there are 171,000 New Zealanders are out of work.

Since National took office, 20,000 construction jobs have disappeared.

Builders. Sparkies. Plumbers.

Meanwhile, schools need fixing and hospitals need repairs.

Labour will get the work going.

We'll improve more than 2,000 schools, and get the hospital repairs already on the books finished.

And we'll back nearly 30,000 apprentices into work.

Getting the cost of living under control is the fight in front of us.

But this election is also about the kind of country our kids grow up in.

I grew up in the Hutt Valley. It's still home for me and my family, and it's where I'm raising my own kids.

The people I grew up around worked hard and looked out for each other.

They weren't asking for anything extraordinary. A decent job. A home they could afford. A doctor when they needed one.

You could put in a full week's work and pay the bills. And if your kids wanted to stay close to home, there was a future for them here.

That was the deal in this country. And that deal's been broken.

In my lifetime I’ve watched while opportunity in New Zealand has eroded for too many people.

Wealth, power and resources have become more and more concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people.

I’ve seen the damage done to the lives of regular everyday Kiwis when the public services we all rely on have been starved of the resources they need to do the job.

Cutting public services and leaving everything to the market has failed too many people, for too long.

Trickle-down economics does not work.

It’s time to turn the page.

Over the last few years, 2,000 people have been leaving New Zealand every single week.

Two thousand. Every week.

Over a year, that's like everyone in Dunedin packing up and heading overseas.

Every year.

Our nurses and teachers. Our sparkies and engineers. Our future.

Young people we've raised and trained.

As a dad, I think about this all the time.

I want my kids to have the chance to build a good life here, just as I did.

If they decide to go overseas, I’ll be heartbroken, of course.

But I’ll understand.

What I don't want is for them to feel that leaving is the only way to get ahead.

And I know I'm not the only parent who worries about that.

I’m determined to give young Kiwis more reason to stay here and make a life for themselves in New Zealand.

So today… I'm announcing that the next Labour Government will cut student debt.

If you've finished your study and you're still paying off a student loan, we'll wipe 10 percent off what you owe on 1 April next year.

And we won't stop there.

If you're studying now, or you start in the future, stay in New Zealand for three years after you finish and we'll wipe 10 percent off your loan.

Because if you study here, work here and contribute here, you should be able to get ahead here.

No one should have to leave New Zealand to build their future. We want you here.

We’ve invested in your education because we believe in what you can do.

We want you to have the chance to use those skills and build your life in this country.

Now.

Almost every day on the campaign trail, someone asks me: "That all sounds good Chris. But where's the money coming from?"

It's a fair question. And you deserve a straight answer.

Governing is about choices.

National chose to waste millions on ferries that are still nowhere near the water, and tax breaks for tobacco companies.

And they're paying for it with cuts to your hospitals and your schools.

I'm making a different choice.

Our plan to fix the health system includes free GP visits, free prescriptions and more appointments.

And will be paid for with a simple, targeted capital gains tax on investment and commercial property.

Not the family home. Not your farm or your business. Not your KiwiSaver.

Nine out of ten New Zealanders won't pay a single cent.

I'd rather ask a small number of people to contribute a little extra than ask thousands of people to put off seeing a doctor until they end up in ED.

And the rest of our plan?

The school and hospital repairs. The apprenticeships. The student loan cut. The help with your bills.

That's paid for too. Every dollar of it.

And you won't have to take my word for it.

In a few weeks, when the government opens the books, we'll publish our numbers in full, for anyone to check.

Public money is your money. We'll only spend it where it makes a real difference in people's lives.

That's the choice. And I'm proud to make it.

And if you elect us, we'll hit the ground running.

From day one, we'll take immediate action on the things that matter most.

Your grocery bill. Your power bill. Your visit to the doctor.

I know people have had enough of stop-start politics.

So where good work is underway, we'll keep it going.

If a school needs fixing, let's fix it.

If a hospital needs repairing, let's get on with it.

If a business is ready to invest, let’s give it some certainty.

People often ask me why I want to be Prime Minister.

I want to be Prime Minister because I want a fair go for Kiwis.

I meet people who have done everything we ask of them.

They work hard. They care for their families. They contribute to their communities.

And lately, it’s become harder and harder for them to get ahead.

I am determined to change that.

I'll get the cost of living under control.

And I'll make sure your hard work is rewarded.

I'll make sure you can get in to see a doctor when you need one.

I'll get tradies back to work.

And I'll lead a Government that will give our kids a reason to build their future right here at home.

That's the job.

Now, to our candidates and volunteers.

You are how we win this.

National will have the big money. The billboards. The attack ads.

But we've got something they'll never have.

We've got you.

Every door you knock on. Every phone call you make. Every leaflet delivered. Every chat at the local market.

It all makes a difference.

It’s how elections are won in this country.

Not by putting up billboards with blatant lies.

On the doorstep.

41 days.

41 days to change this government.

I'm giving this campaign everything I've got.

Will you give it everything you've got?

Are we going to knock on every door?

Are we going to fight every day?

Can we win this election?

Yes we will!

This election is about the cost of living.

Christopher Luxon promised to fix it. He hasn't. And more time won't change that.

Let's change this government and get to work.

Better. Starts. Now.