Labour’s finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds spoke of her upbringing, reflected on the election campaign, and replacing Grant Robertson in an interview with Q+A this morning.
A long-time Labour voter, Edmonds was selected as the party candidate in Mana in 2020, winning the electorate by a large margin.
A mother of eight, one of the reasons that Edmonds was inspired to engage in politics was after seeing a child walking home from school in the rain wearing just a t-shirt, shorts and jandals.
"For me, it’s really much about looking after other kids, because sometimes other kids don't have the same opportunities my children have."
She said her upbringing also influenced her view of the equality of opportunity in New Zealand.
"It's massive shoes to fill, but I wear heels," said Edmonds when asked about replacing long-serving finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. (Source: Q and A)
“My mother passed away when I was four. My dad was aged 40 and had to look after four children by himself. He was able to do that because there was a benefit system that he could depend on, so he could spend some time to look after me and my siblings.”
Doing the same today would be “really difficult” due to the cost of living crisis, she said, adding that Labour could have done more to reduce child poverty during its term.
She admitted that the indexation of benefits to wage growth could possibly have happened earlier and that more of the Welfare Working Group’s recommendations could have been implemented.
“At the same time, we also had to invest in other parts of government systems. So, I do believe that the ministers had to do with the best that they had at the time.”
She also admitted that people weren't inspired by Labour's election promises and that decisions contributed to inflation.
"People just didn't feel inspired by what we were putting on the table, and they voted us out."
Edmonds would not comment on her opinion on universal basic income, capital gains and wealth taxes, saying that she was a "team player."
"For me, where our Labour team goes to and where we decide - that's what I'm going to be doing."
When asked how her ethos in the finance portfolio differed from long-serving Grant Robertson, she said “it's massive shoes to fill, but I wear heels.”
Edmonds said she “wouldn’t wish upon any finance minister the decisions [Robertson] had to make.”
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