PM Tagelagi says COLA not an option yet for the govt as the island braces for further cost increases

It has been many months since BCN news was able to sit down with Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi so yesterday afternoon PM Tagelagi spent almost two hours speaking with BCN News about many issues including the increasing cost of shipping.

When asked if the government will consider a cost of living adjustment (COLA), he said that is not an option for the government at the moment as the island braces for further cost increases after Matsons hiked the cost of shipping containers this month.

PM Tagelagi said that there is no poverty in Niue and that people should understand the high costs of living is not just happening in Niue, but around the world.

Reflecting on the flow on effects of cost of goods in New Zealand, the Prime Minister said ‘when things in the shops in New Zealand increase, we inherit those increases because we import most goods from there’

Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi said his government is focused on helping families who don’t have the means to bear the increasing costs.

He recalled the government’s hefty subsidies bill saying that the government is bearing the costs and subsidizing power generation, water and not forgetting the cost of free healthcare and schooling.

Tagelagi said that the public can help by understanding the government’s predicament as well as calling on organizations like the Price Control Board to work together with the private sector to help minimize the cost impacts on the local population.

Prime Minister Tagelagi also confirmed to BCN news yesterday that the government will renew its shipping agreement with Matsons over the coming weeks.