Ministers' big spending plans dashed by reality

Finance minister Grant Robertson to ministers: "As will be obvious to you, that is far beyond the funding available." (Image: Norrie Montgomery)

Ian Llewellyn

Thu, 11 Aug 2022

Budget documentation shows how ambitious ministers' spending plans were compared to what was available to be spent or could be realistically implemented, with the haggling over climate change spending particularly intense.The Treasury today released the papers that cover the negotiations and policy debates between both ministers and officials in this year’s budget formation.Early in the budget process, finance minister Grant Robertson wrote to one minister and turned down several bids, saying: “Over 560 initiatives were submitte...

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