Fiscal update shows we’re having the wrong debate

Productivity, rather than fiscal policy, is the issue requiring focus. (Image: NZME)

Tue, 16 Dec 2025

The latest update of the fiscal and economic outlook proves one thing: the much-hyped debate between Nicola Willis and one of her predecessors, Ruth Richardson, is on the wrong subject.In short: the political debate is focused on whether and how to cut costs, when the crying need for New Zealand is for a debate on how to achieve sustainably higher rates of economic growth.The fiscal forecasts in the Half-Year Fiscal and Economic Update (HYEFU) show a story that is becoming as old as time: a slog from here to the end of the decade to get somewhe...

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