Opposition parties are calling on the government to take some responsibility for the record high inflation which is stretching some household budgets to breaking point.
National and ACT both say the government should be cutting spending, red tape, and taxes and they're keen to make it an election decider next year.
Annual inflation has increased 7.3 percent since the June 2021 quarter - the largest year-on-year increase for 32 years.
The government says it is doing what it can to ease the pain for those who are struggling and blames global events outside its control, but austerity measures would hurt health and education spending.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson spoke to Corin Dann about the impact of government spending on inflation.
