About this episode
Nicola Willis discusses the government's economic recovery plans and child poverty statistics ahead of the general election.
Return to surplus? Nicola Willis charts economic recovery Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered her third and final Budget Day speech for the parliamentary term this week. A Budget delivering investment in health, infrastructure and defence, the Minister has described it as "responsible" - while Opposition voices have criticised the lack of stimulus for ordinary New Zealanders facing cost-of-living pressures. The big bonus is a forecast return to surplus in financial year 2028/29, one year earlier than previously forecast, using the government's favoured forecasting tool, OBEGALx. Five months out from the general election, Nicola Willis joins Jack Tame to discuss the government's record on economic stewardship, why the new bank tax won't be passed onto consumers, and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's "freeloaders" comment on New Zealand's defence spending. Children's Commissioner: The cost of child poverty In Budget 2026, Treasury published New Zealand's latest child poverty statistics. It's a grim picture, and one that isn't improving much: the number of households in material hardship is estimated to be 14 percent, with a 2028 target of six percent. Children's Commissioner…
People in this episode
Host: Jack Tame
Guests: Nicola Willis, Claire Achmad
Topics covered
- economic recovery
- Budget 2026
- child poverty
- immigration
- cost-of-living
- defence spending
Keywords
- economic stewardship
- budget
- child poverty
- immigration
- cost-of-living
- defence
- surplus
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Children's Commissioner, Treasury
Places: New Zealand
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