New Zealand's economy poses challenge for election victor

FILE PHOTO: Christopher Luxon, Leader of the National Party, speaks at the New Zealand National Party’s election campaign launch in Auckland, New Zealand, September 3, 2023. REUTERS/David Rowland/File Photo

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand’s major parties have promised voters cost-of-living relief if they win Saturday’s general election, but there is one major obstacle – a central bank that says borrowing costs must stay high and growth subdued for some time to rein in inflation.

That will stiffen the challenge for the nation's two major parties, the centre-left Labour Party and the centre-right National Party, to deliver its agenda where rising prices and government debt have been hot-button election issues.