How bad is the Government’s fiscal position?

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will deliver the Budget next week. (Image: NZME)

Fri, 16 May 2025

The Government is portraying a mess and the implicit need for austerity in the 2025 Budget and subsequent Budgets, if fiscal targets and a return to surplus are to be achieved. The word austerity is being shunned, but there is no free lunch if a return to surplus is to be achieved. You need to find savings, and that involves tough decisions.The opposition and previous Government are denying responsibility and the need for austerity, but how their numbers stack up is anyone’s guess. That Government threw money around like co...

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