So when we hear the words "the cost of living crisis", we need to question, like I hope we question all political rhetoric, what that statement actually means. At what point are we willing to call inflation a cost of living crisis? Is it 4 percent, 5 percent, 6 percent? Statistics New Zealand's household living-costs index shows that those with the least wealth in Aotearoa have experienced, roughly, double the rate of inflation as those with the most for many years. It is an inequality crisis. The lowest-income New Zealanders, the half of New Zealand who own just 2 percent of the wealth in this country—this is a "business as usual" crisis. 