Perspective with Ryan Bridge: What do the latest inflation numbers really mean for the 'squeezed middle'?

Best of Business · Jul 28, 2026 · 2m · transcript

Nicola Willis will like the inflation number that's come out. More importantly, she'll like the story that number is telling.

Remember, her target audience is the squeezed middle. This is the battleground. This is the fight for the soft centre at the election: Labour versus National. These are the voters both parties are targeting.

The Stats NZ figure for the year to the June quarter is 3.2 percent. Prices are up for the average Kiwi family. On the face of it, that doesn't sound like good news.

But for the roughly one-third of Kiwis who own a home, aka the squeezed middle, the number is…