Robert MacCulloch: The PM says the gov't "don't have a money tree"

Yes it does - the Reserve Bank calls it Tāne Mahuta

The PM has criticized teachers' pay demands with the jibe that the "Governments have to ultimately make the books balance, we don't have a great money tree in the backyard that means we can continue to indefinitely increase government spending, we have to pay for everything somehow". His line comes amidst strike action by the teachers' union that has led to school closures throughout the first half of this year.

Michael Johnston: Teacher's Unions are not helping our best teachers get the pay they deserve

Last Thursday, most of New Zealand’s teachers were on strike. Teachers’ unions representatives say that the action was necessary to press their claim for better pay and working conditions. Prior to the strike, NZEI president Mark Potter asserted that, without striking, “we aren’t going to get the change that we need”.

It’s not hard to see why teachers believe they deserve more pay. Teaching is a profession with a high degree of responsibility. Teachers increasingly must deal not only with their core job of educating young people, but also with social problems in their wider communities.