Finance Minister Nicola Willis has repeatedly said she will not be borrowing for tax cuts and denied fiscal irresponsibility. Today, the budget has revealed Nicola Willis has borrowed $12 billion – and her tax cuts cost $10 billion.

“The budget takes New Zealand backwards. The Finance Minister managed to find $2.9 billion for landlords, but only 30 cents an hour for minimum wage workers in a tax cut plan they swore they wouldn’t borrow for.

“Treasury is predicting unemployment to increase to 5.2 percent, adding 27,000 people to the Jobseeker benefit in 2025. And what is this Government’s solution? To cut more jobs and sanction those on the benefit. 

“Time and time again the Finance Minister said they are not borrowing for tax cuts, but debt is forecast to rocket up by 43.5 percent of GDP. This Government is borrowing for tax cuts.

“Nicola Willis says this Budget is fiscally neutral. We know she never read our Budgets, but it looks like she has not read her own.

“In the 2024/25 year, the Government are adding an additional $700 million into the economy. The Government is putting more stimulus into the economy when the Reserve Bank is still trying to get inflation down.

“This will keep inflation higher for longer.

“The fiscally irresponsible tax cuts will not do anything to help with the costs facing New Zealanders. There is nothing in here to support rents, to help reduce rates, or to help with insurance premiums.

“The Government has cancelled existing climate programmes, leaving New Zealand incredibly vulnerable.

“I know the construction industry is crying out for a pipeline of work, there doesn’t appear to be substance in the budget to deliver this either.

“The Finance Minister has left the social sector and Māori in the dust. Child poverty is also set to increase from 12.6 percent to 13.4 percent this year alone, increasing to 14 percent by 2028.

"This is a budget of broken promises and political back downs,” Barbara Edmonds said.