Cam Slater: Labour’s Fiscal Fiasco - Treasury Exposes Ardern’s Economic Sabotage

This report is a wake-up call. Labour’s Covid tyranny wasn’t just about masks and mandates; it was about fiscal vandalism on an epic scale.

The New Zealand Herald dropped a bombshell this week, waving a Treasury report that rips the lid off Labour’s catastrophic mishandling of the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. The verdict is in: Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson and their sidekick Chris Hipkins spent like drunken sailors, ignored official advice, and left our economy in tatters. This isn’t just a bad report card: it’s a scathing indictment of Labour’s fiscal recklessness, a legacy of debt and despair that’ll haunt Kiwis for generations. Ardern’s fairytale book might paint her as some saintly saviour but this Treasury report exposes her for what she really is: an economic wrecking ball.

The Treasury’s findings, as reported by the Herald, reveal Labour’s pandemic spending wasn’t just excessive – it was a deliberate middle finger to sound economic advice. Officials begged them to rein it in, warning that throwing cash around like confetti would overheat the economy and fuel inflation. Did Ardern and Robertson listen? Of course not. They were too busy playing heroes, splashing billions on poorly targeted wage subsidies, business grants and pet projects that did little except inflate their egos. The result? An economy cooked to a crisp, with soaring inflation, skyrocketing costs and a public debt pile that makes Everest look like a molehill.

This wasn’t leadership: it was lunacy. Labour racked up debt to monstrous levels, leaving fiscal landmines scattered across the budget like a toddler’s Lego mess. The Herald notes Treasury’s blunt assessment: the spending was “overcooked”, pumping too much money into an economy already on life support. Inflation hit Kiwis like a sledgehammer, jacking up prices for everything from groceries to fuel. Businesses collapsed, families struggled and the Reserve Bank was forced to crank interest rates to tame the beast Labour unleashed. And all because Ardern and her cronies thought they knew better than the experts. Arrogance doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Ardern’s book might be flying off shelves in some woke bookstore in New York, but here in New Zealand her real legacy is a smoking crater where our economy used to be. She’s gallivanting offshore, dodging accountability while we’re left to clean up her mess. The Treasury report lays it bare: her inane policies, from lockdowns that crushed small businesses to cash splurges that fuelled inflation, were economic sabotage dressed up as compassion. She sold us a fairytale while planting landmines that are still detonating. Maybe she should stay in whatever ivory tower she’s hiding in because Kiwis are now waking up to the extent of her damage.

Then there’s Chris Hipkins, Labour’s resident whinger, who has the gall to criticise the current Government’s economic fixes. This Treasury report should shut him up for good. Hipkins was right there, cheering on Ardern and Robertson as they dug the fiscal hole we’re now stuck in. He was complicit in every reckless dollar spent, every warning ignored. His constant bleating about the new government’s policies is rich, considering he helped to architect this disaster. The Treasury’s findings expose the depth of the mess he co-created: a bloated public sector, runaway spending and a debt burden that’ll cripple our kids’ future. If anyone’s political career deserves to be buried, it’s his. Dig a hole, Chippy, and jump in.

The Herald’s article quotes Treasury’s damning conclusion that Labour’s spending “harmed the economy” by driving inflation and undermining stability. This isn’t just a whoopsie: it’s malpractice. Labour didn’t just mismanage the pandemic response, they weaponised it to push their big-government agenda, consequences be damned. Wage subsidies were handed out like candy to businesses that didn’t need them, while others were left to die under lockdown restrictions. Billions were funnelled into projects with no clear benefit, all while officials frantically waved red flags that Labour ignored. The result? A debt-to-GDP ratio that’s ballooned to levels that make your eyes water and an economy still reeling from their incompetence.

This report is a wake-up call. Labour’s Covid tyranny wasn’t just about masks and mandates – it was about fiscal vandalism on an epic scale. Ardern, Robertson and Hipkins didn’t save New Zealand: they screwed it. The Government is left picking up the pieces, trying to defuse the landmines Labour left behind. Kiwis deserve better than this. We deserve leaders who listen to advice, not ideologues who think they’re smarter than everyone else. Ardern’s gone, but her legacy of economic carnage lingers. Hipkins is still here, still whining, but this Treasury report buries his credibility. It’s time for Labour to own their failure, apologise and get out of the way. New Zealand can’t afford another round of their reckless rule.

Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. Cam blogs regularly on the GoodOil - where this article was sourced.