"National Party leader Jenny Shipley is trying to treat people as idiots when she argues that groceries are cheaper now than they were 15 years ago," Labour finance spokesperson Michael Cullen said today.

"Perhaps the answer will be in that case for Mrs Shipley to accept a Prime Ministerial salary less than what was paid in 1984 from now to the general election and see how she manages.

"All Mrs Shipley has managed to discover is that if you choose carefully which objects you buy, some things have gone up less than other things in the last 15 years. That has always been true. Prices never go up by exactly the same amount with respect to every good and service that is available.

"What Mrs Shipley might have told people is how much the cost of tertiary education has gone up since 1990 in real terms. She might have told people how many more dollars the pension would be worth now than it was in 1990 if National had not frozen it twice and then cut it in relative terms.

"Over the last year, food prices have increased more than nine times faster than general price levels have. I invite Mrs Shipley to debate with me at any Grey Power meeting of her choice, the subject of the debate to be "The Cost of Living is Cheaper now than it was in 1984," Dr Cullen said.

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