New Zealanders are heading into an election year under pressure. Against that backdrop, 1News reporter Aziz Al-Sa’afin asks a simple question in a new TVNZ+ series: What Matters Most?
The cost of living remains stubbornly high, with inflation continuing to bite and petrol prices climbing past $3. Grocery bills are stretching further, and for some households, even the basics are becoming harder to afford.
At the same time, global tensions are adding to the uncertainty, with conflict in the Middle East pushing up fuel prices and raising fresh concerns about the economy here at home.
'Being able to pay mortgage'
For Jude, an engineering manager and father of two, the focus is close to home.
“Well, I have two young kids so, you know, having a bit of stability and being able to look after them is basically my focus at the moment.”
For him, it comes down to managing everyday costs.
“Just making sure, you know, that we can control costs coming into our household and being able to pay mortgage and that sort of thing.”
And beyond finances, it’s about time.
“So just spending time with a family is the most important thing to me right now.”
When it comes to the wider economy, there’s still uncertainty.
“I'm on the fence. It looks like things are getting better," he says.
“I was out at the mall on the weekend with my daughter and I was actually quite surprised to see how many people were around. I didn't expect that. Not convinced yet that everything is as rosy as it should be.”
'Our grocery bill was almost cut down by a third'
For Anna, a personal trainer now living in Brisbane, cost of living was a key reason for leaving New Zealand.
“I think when I think about the election and the reasons we moved, one of the main drivers for us, apart from the weather, obviously, but cost of living was a really big one.”
She says the difference was immediate.
“And it was sort of confirmed when we landed. We felt that once we moved to Brisbane, the first week our grocery bill was almost cut down by a third.
“We were paying so much less just for food, for utilities, for a lot of the basics," she says. “And it felt like we had a lot more change left over in our pockets after all of the basic expenses were covered.”
Even as Australians talk about rising costs, she says many Kiwis feel differently.
“Now if you ask the Aussies, they will tell you, you know, cost of living so high, it's gotten so much worse.
“However, when you talk to the Kiwis, the bajillion of them that live near us, we all feel a little bit more secure in Australia, that we've got a little bit more, you know, spending money.”
And her message back home is clear.
“I really hope that New Zealand prioritises improving the cost of living for particularly our young people so that not everyone ends up moving overseas like I did.”
'It’s pretty rough out there at the moment'
For Dean, a sound recordist, the concerns go beyond household budgets.
“At the moment, because I've been going down these AI rabbit holes, what matters the most to me is how it's all going to be handled when we finally reach 'super intelligence'.
"They're predicting either this year or next year 'super intelligence' or AGI is achieved and then that's a whole game changer.”
He believes the rise of the technology could reshape everything.
“So, for example, if you feel really strongly about global warming, yeah, it feels like super intelligence is either gonna fix it or or fix us. So every other issue just gets encompassed by what's gonna happen when we get to super intelligence.”
And in a world already feeling uncertain, his outlook is cautious.
“I would say if I had to choose I would err on the side of pessimism maybe just because of so many unknowns and you know it's pretty rough out there at the moment.
“Maybe it's always been rough but we just choose to focus more on the things that are rough," he says.
“It's not like the world has always been at peace and it's all been love and harmony. It's always been pretty brutal out there but maybe we're so connected now and we've got cameras everywhere - we're just way more exposed to the chaos.”
He says society needs to start preparing now.
“I would say you need to study AGI. What are the effects, the potential effects it's going to bring us and how are we going to tackle that as a society because it's really going to turn everything upside down like we've never ever seen before.
“It is the last invention. There will be no more inventions after this.”
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