Treasury says covid spending overcooked

Treasury warned about over stimulus. (Image: NZME)

Thu, 07 Aug 2025

A new Treasury paper has criticised the last Government for overspending during the pandemic, leaving the country with a high level of public debt that makes it vulnerable to future shocks.The paper calculated the total cost of the pandemic at about $66 billion. It put the total fiscal contribution to the pandemic, measured by additional spending and foregone tax revenue, at about 20.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), making the response “one of the largest among advanced economies“.By Treasury’s estimation, this was the seco...

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