John Blakeley: Times are tough without making them tougher

The economic climate in New Zealand has changed considerably in recent months. Mortgage interest rates have been rising, there has been a downturn in the housing market, finance companies have regularly been going into receivership and now the public are seeing ominous signs of substantial rises in food and fuel prices.
The reason for most of the price rises to date is the international increase in food and oil prices. But rises in the price of transport fuel and electricity which are of the Government's choosing are being planned for the next three years but are now under review.
Firstly, in the transport fuel area, a regional fuel tax of up to five cents per litre is to be imposed to cover a half share of the cost of rail electrification in Auckland. The Prime Minister has recently indicated that this will be limited to about one cent per litre in the immediate future....