Whangārei solo-mum with three children still at home, Melanie Adams had some pre-Budget wishes - she didn't quite get them all.
She's been struggling for a while — she lives in a Housing NZ rental in Ōtangarei for $365 a week, is on a benefit and earns between $150 and $240 weekly in part-time work.
She wanted to see GST reduced on a range of fresh and healthy food items rather than a sugar tax on over-sweetened, unhealthy food. Adams also wanted more tax breaks for low-income families, whether they were beneficiaries or the ''working poor''.
''I'm hoping this Government might be able to provide more help for those people, but we don't know yet how much they can do.''
Next to food, her biggest spend each week is on petrol. She drives her children around and uses her car to get to work, running up a weekly bill of about $100 in petrol.