The Finance Minister is ruling out using austerity measures, to combat rising inflation

Annual inflation reached 5.9 percent in the 2021 calendar year -- the highest inflation rate recorded in more than 30 years.

Prices are likely to rise even further this year, driven by supply chain issues and other global factors.

Grant Robertson says slashing Government spending won't address those underlying issues, that are largely outside the Government's control.

He says while the Government continues to be careful about its spending, cutting the healthcare spend won't affect the price of petrol.