The path back to surplus is a tough one

Finance Minister Nicola Willis. (Image: NZME)

Mon, 20 May 2024

Westpac Bank is tipping the Treasury to forecast a “tiny” surplus in the year to June 2028 at the May 30 budget, but said it won’t be easy to achieve.“We think that sustained spending restraint may well prove more difficult than is likely to be depicted in Budget 2024. Hence the path to surplus may be longer and more uncertain,” said senior economist Darren Gibbs.The main uncertainties about expenditure are the extent of the baseline departmental cost savings that finance minister Nicola Willis has been able to ach...

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