A good measure of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's view of New Zealand's economic decline is the point that she awarded New Zealanders another statutory holiday – Matariki. A responsible economic decision would be to use Matariki to replace a lesser important statutory holiday.

The cost to both our economy and the taxpayer of a compulsory holiday is enormous. All employers are less productive, costs are up, any that must work get extra pay plus a day in lieu. And the Government is the largest employer!

Yet the PM brings in this holiday, knowing of NZ facing Covid-19 disruptions.

Then anyone who has been around a while knew that quantitative easing, a fancy word for printing money, was going to lead to inflation over the next few years – compounding the poverty and hardship that many New Zealanders are already facing.

The sooner Labour gets their fingers out of the till, the better.

Anyone who takes time to ‘read between the lines' can see that Jacinda only cares about Jacinda.

Bill Capamagian, Tauranga City.