NZ govt's surplus target puts big-ticket spending under microscope, English says

By Paul McBeth
Dec. 18 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand's government's margin-of-error target to meet an operating surplus by 2015 has put spending on its biggest programmes under the gun, according to Finance Minister Bill English.
The government plans to keep its spending programme in check as the deteriorating global economy puts its budget surplus at risk, singling out "long-term drivers of costs in areas such as welfare, health, education and law and order," according to the English's budget policy statement.
"The forecast surplus of...
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