The Truth behind National’s claim this isn’t an austerity budget
National have borrowed more than Labour did…
…but the reason why this is an austerity budget is because Nicola Willis has hollowed out the public service budgets by not factoring in population growth, inflation or an ageing population.
She has instead borrowed for tax cuts we can not afford.
Bernard Hickey makes this point...
Nicola Willis claimed last week that the 6.2% increase in health funding in Budget 2025 showed spending was rising faster than the population and inflation, but Auckland Uni’s Tim Tenbensel says that’s misleading because much of the increase was repaying past Holidays Act underpayments. He says the actual rise was 3.6%, which equalled 1.2% in real terms. That was also before last year’s 1.7% population growth. See more in below in Top Poverty & Health news.
…amd NZCTU Economist Craig Renney is equally scathing…
“This Budget is funded above all by the gutting of the pay equity system, the halving of the government’s contribution to people’s Kiwisaver accounts, and other cuts that will disproportionality impact women, welfare recipients, and working households,” said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney.
“None of the choices the government has made were inevitable. The government could have funded its spending initiatives by raising new taxes on the wealthiest New Zealanders. It could have not decided to give billions away to those who already have much, while cutting services for those with real and pressing needs.
“Budget 2025 also leaves New Zealand’s most significant structural challenges unaddressed. There is no meaningful movement on closing the infrastructure deficit; no solution to our health workforce shortage; no willingness to reduce child poverty or to address the housing crisis; and absolutely zero investment made in decarbonisation and climate adaptation.
“The coalition government continues to kick the can down the road on the most pressing challenges we face, all while making life steadily more difficult for New Zealanders who have the least,” said Renney.
…this as Talbot Mills finding the Budget was the least popular in nearly 30 years and Business confidence plunges…
Business confidence drops three months in a row
…you can’t blame Jacinda any more, this is hard right economic austerity in action.
National use small business morality to gloss over big business inte3rests.
National is goof for capitalists, not capitalism. Their policy is steep Government cuts under the belief the Free Market will step in and do the job cheaper and changing regulation to ensure their donors get what they want!
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So let’s hear, or more likely not hear, the 1ZB pearl clutching types who supposedly freak out about govt borrowing until it’s these lying idiots in charge. This govt is a disaster.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360705730/dark-future-ahead-surprise-pay-cuts-cause-pain-early-childhood-teachers
The budget and idiot Seymour are sending ECE teachers to Australia.
10-15 years ago all those property developers putting 100, 200, 1200 house developments were borrowing at 3%. They don’t want to sell. They’ve lost a little and they including Willis think if they can hold on a little longer they’ll come out even but they’re still believing in there own bullshit
The infuriating thing is that this is repeating Ruth Richardson’s failed experiment.
Keeping wages and benefits low reduced consumer spending. Service industries closed their doors or reduced staff resulting in more unemployment and low productivity.
Of course it is wrong to call this failure because it was never designed to help the New Zealand public but to enrich National Party cronies through low taxation and low wages.
This is fully evidenced by the King’s Birthday honours to people like Ruth Richardson and Steven Joyce, giving truth to the adage;
‘Doth treason prosper? Surely – for if it prosper none dare call it treason.’
‘Getting New Zealand back on track,’
For who? Their cronies? The travel and home removal industry? ( taking people out of the country).
A stupid backward government failing to address any of the problems they and their Labour cronies have created over the last few decades.
I like the fisheries comparison – NZ vs Japan. Theirs are more developed. Time was NZ fisheries employed 1% of Japanese fisheries, and employed 1% of their fisheries work force. Today NZ’s fisheries return at best $5.2 billion, while Japan garners $8.3 trillion NZ – yes, we get less than 0.1 percent from a geographical resource of equal size. And that gap is growing.
NZ governance is more than a thousand times stupider and more backward than Japan. A statistic to bash our stupid and backward and frankly corrupt MPs around the head with.
But hey, identity politics is so important.
After these wrecking ball bastards have departed this earth, we will still be cleaning up their vomitous mess.
While the “left” clean up their foul mess, the “right” will accuse them of “woke” policies and borrowing too much.
It is all so predictable and so damn self-defeating and stupid.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/562887/engineering-firm-strips-doors-off-pukaha-aviary-after-245-000-bill-unpaid-for-months
Firms can’t wait with large bills unpaid and suppliers and workers to look after.
So it isn’t unfair that a job that has been going since November last year must ensure its financial requirements are met. (I don’t know if there have been part payments made at different stages.)
…She said the community had supported Pūkaha since it was established in 1962 to breed and release endangered native birds, with the takahē – a Fiordland bird once thought extinct – its first species.
“But the current operating model, which includes only part funding of conservation work by the Department of Conservation, with the rest from community funding, is no longer sustainable.”…
She said the board and management had been communicating to lenders, creditors and staff about the potential closure of Pūkaha, and acknowledged the stress and hurt they were feeling…
There is more detail in this article from The Post.
31 May, 2925 https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360707310/pukaha-doors-will-shut-without-urgent-fundingAgainst falling revenue, expenses increased in the 12 months to June 30 last year, particularly finance costs, which had risen nearly 115% to $214,940….
Our national organisations and green and environmental treasures need solid government funding at stable interest rates when not actually a straight grant. The tax cuts that pollies are using to buy their way, virtually, into government are totally bad faith from silly greedy, complacent, irresponsible citizens.
2 June 2025 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/562788/pukaha-national-wildlife-centre-calls-for-financial-help
..Mullins said for several months the sanctuary had been working with potential investors, and had brought in independent financial advice.
“We’ve also been in discussion with the Department of Conservation about the payment of outstanding invoices for Shore Plover Aviaries, a nearly completed construction project urgently needed to continue the national programme of protection of this endangered species.”
The centre was now asking for the community to step in, she said.,,
How to help this needy aviary until we can return to sensible normality and see the present barbarous right-wing cabal step down – goodbye to National, ACT, NZFirst, others? (hopefully)?
Switch some of your holiday money for overseas to your own lovely country, can’t we?
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Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre | Mt Bruce Wairarapa …
Pukaha National Wildlife Centre
https://pukaha.org.nz
A not-for-profit charity managing an unfenced breeding sanctuary for native wildlife.
Our 942-hectare forest is home to wild birds…
https://pukaha.org.nz/
06 375-8004 info@pukaha.org.nz
https://www.facebook.com/PukahaNZ
https://www.instagram.com/pukahanz/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChVZ97LtgKHbYe-lkiFimMw
I put a comment up on 1 June about this. https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2025/06/01/how-this-class-war-budget-will-impact-nz-politics/
At that time I didn’t realise that the story was about Mt Bruce Aviary, North Island that has been a taonga for long. It is one of the problems from the puritan approach to adopting Maori language without including the pakeha one by which it has long been known. But now it is even more concerning about lack of proper funding and that tradespeople are not being paid because of lack of government backing for our country’s infrastructure and features.
I have not detailed this comment as well as I should but the links are in place for more information. Have some things to attend to. I wish govt would do its job and I could get on with mine as a citizen!