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In a display of brass neck that even for Labour was quite something, Carmel Sepuloni tried to explain in an interview on TV that the current cost of living crisis wasn\\u2019t necessarily the Government\'s fault.\\xa0\\xa0

As regards an explanation as to who\'s fault it might be, she seemed to settle on the weather. There is a theme here as the weather has taken a lot of heat this year.\\xa0\\xa0

What a spectacularly convenient scapegoat it is because, in part, it\'s true, but only in part. The weather is no ones fault so it\\u2019s the perfect alibi.\\xa0\\xa0

The weather excuse has been rolled out previously. Chris Hipkins and Grant Robertson trumpet that we wouldn\'t have had a recession if it hadn\'t been for the weather.\\xa0

Carmel, having seen that, clearly thought she could stretch matters just that little bit further and suggest the entire cost-of-living crisis could be written off in the same fashion.\\xa0

Sadly, no.\\xa0

Her economic credentials are not good to start with. You might remember a few months back when she was standing in as Prime Minister she got given a series of questions in the house at Question Time around the economy and the trade deficit. It became awfully clear, awfully quickly she was a mile out of her depth. In fact the Finance Minister Robertson was heard at the time to be whispering the answers.\\xa0

The trick here, and I think we will see more and more of it, is there are a group of voters who either don\\u2019t care or aren\'t clued in enough to know that what is said is often not actually right.\\xa0

There are a group of voters who will hear Sepuloni say its not the Government\'s fault and will simply accept it. Sort of like the Police Minister saying we feel safer or the Prime Minister in the house last week saying we have record low unemployment. We don\\u2019t, but if he says it with gusto and no one picks him up, why can\'t it be true?\\xa0

For the record, the cost-of-living is entirely the Government\'s fault. The Reserve Bank, with Government backing, printed money to such an extent we would always end up with record inflation.\\xa0

The Government kept the borders closed so labour was critically short and we all got huge pay rises to cover the rising prices, hence the inflationary shambles we currently find ourselves in.\\xa0

The question is - does Carmel not get that? Or does Carmel fully get it but runs her line of BS anyway.\\xa0

Either way, the buck stops on the doorstep of her and her fellow economic saboteurs.\\xa0

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