NZCPR Newsletter: Budget 2025

The 2025 Budget is done and dusted. While the Government claims growth is their priority, there was little within the budget to suggest it will deliver what they hope.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis would have us believe it is a prudent budget that gets us back on track to a surplus in 2029. But is that surplus real - or is National doing exactly what Labour did when they were in Government: changing the way budget measures are reported to make the figures look better than they really are?

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: This year's Budget doesn't go far enough

I don’t want to start on a bum note, but if you share my view that this country is in a hot mess financially, then this Budget is underwhelming, disappointing - you pick your epithet.

It’s called the growth Budget, but there's no growth in it. The only growth is a result of a tax incentive scheme which is a good idea - but doesn’t go far enough.

NZCPR Newsletter: Good Policy Requires Courage

When the Coalition became Government in 2023, their priority was to reverse the devastating social and economic impact of the former Ardern-Hipkins Government. Their failings were universal, but particularly evident in the economy.

As a result of Labour’s six years in office, Core Crown expenditure escalated from 27 percent of GDP in 2017, to almost 35 percent, and net core Crown debt more than doubled from below 20 percent, to over 42 percent.

Labour’s profligate spending and excessive borrowing had plunged the country into hyperinflation followed by a double-dip recession.