Editorial: Looking for fair deal in tough times

The Keighley family of Taradale are like thousands of New Zealand households.

They are not rich and they are not poor but it is still a challenge to provide the best life they can for their three children.

What they want from the next Government of the land is a fair deal.

Like many families they have taken a bit of a battering through the GFC downturn but they have survived through hard work and determination.

Diesel mechanic Kevin is back on a steady income after striking a rough patch while self-employed and his wife Marian chips in with money she makes from casual home care work.

Like so many other middle New Zealand families, the Keighleys have resorted to hard graft and common sense to balance the household books.

An average shopping bill for the family of five has gone from around $200 a week three years ago to nearly $300 a week in 2011.

With the price of food on the rise, in went a vegetable patch as the Keighleys joined an increasing number of New Zealanders stretching the budget by growing their own greens.

The family car is left in the garage whenever possible. Petrol, as we all know, is becoming a luxury item reserved for use on essential journeys.

The Keighleys describe the last three years as being "pretty tough" but they are not without hope.

Life, they say, could be worse than it is in New Zealand and they have not given in to the lure of moving to Australia.

Reading between the lines, their message to the politicians is that they must deliver a stable government for tough times. With more chilly economic winds buffeting Europe the world is far from out of trouble.

No one is expecting miracles from the next Government of New Zealand but Kiwi families such as the Keighleys know one thing for sure - they can not afford to go backwards.