“The Prime Minister has today admitted to Parliament that 134,000 people who are eligible for the cost of living payment still haven’t received it because the Government does not have their bank accounts,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“This is the Government’s flagship response to the cost of living crisis. According to Grant Robertson, it was signed off four months ago, in April. Now, after hiring 750 people and spending $14 million, we learn that enough people to fill Eden Park three times over haven’t got the money yet. 

“We are facing a cost of living crisis and there are families and individuals who are feeling the pinch. If the Government cared about these people as much as they claim to, they would have simply cut taxes. 

“It would mean people would keep more of their own money and the Government wouldn’t have spent millions on consultants trying to track down bank account numbers.

“Unfortunately, the Government has made the choices it’s made. It prefers to hand out money rather than let earners keep it. It raises the question: what is the point of a Labour Government that’s not even good at handing out other people’s money?"

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