Nats shave spending to promise slightly lower govt debt

National's finance spokeswoman, Nicola Willis. (Image: NZME)

Fri, 29 Sep 2023

A National party-led government will deliver a pre-Christmas mini-budget to kick off 6.5% spending cuts that it would require from back-office or non-essential programmes, National's shadow finance minister, Nicola Willis, announced.She made the pledge at the publication of National's updated fiscal plan to deliver a $3.4 billion improvement in government debt levels and slightly larger fiscal surpluses than the Treasury forecasts in last week’s pre-election economic and fiscal update.National’s much-awaited “fiscal pl...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.
Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].interval) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Property

Future of apprenticeships kicked down the road again

Industries will be presented with two options this month, the skills minister says.

Maria Slade 5:00am

Retail

Star on a losing streak, but what about SkyCity?

Australasian casinos are disproving the idea that the house always wins.

Dileepa Fonseka 5:00am

Star on a losing streak, but what about SkyCity?

World

Foreign investors may overlook Japanese bid for US Steel

Investors now may study some deals more carefully.

The Washington Post 5:00am

Foreign investors may overlook Japanese bid for US Steel

Sponsored

Why Kiwis are embracing Bitcoin ETFs

The once hard-to-access investment option is becoming mainstream.

Smart

Sponsored

Boost worker health, boost results

Research shows flexible workspaces improve health and productivity

Regus

More Economy

Retail

Hospitality spending hit hardest in 2024

Core retail spending grew at the slowest rate in five years.

Gregor Thompson 13 Jan 2025

Economy

Nearly 6,000 new roles filled in November, Stats NZ says

The country added almost 6,000 jobs in November, and service industries fueled the increase.Stats New Zealand said on Monday that filled job numbers rose 0.3% compared to October.Primary industries provided 436 fewer jobs.Goods-producing industries, the biggest of which are manuf...

Staff reporters 13 Jan 2025