𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕞𝕪 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕣

𝕋𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕥𝕤 ℙ𝕣𝕖-𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝔼𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕔 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕌𝕡𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕋𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕕𝕒𝕪, 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕚𝕩𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤.

T

he Labour Party hailed the accounts as showing the economy was turning the corner, with no recession, wages ahead of inflation, and more people in jobs.

National painted the numbers as dire, with a return to surplus delayed and government debt surging.

Labour Party finance spokesperson Grant Robertson spoke to Corin Dann.

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𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕

Inflation and high interest rates look like they'll be sticking around. While some of the numbers in Treasury's financial update make for better than expected reading, it's clear taxpayers will continue to face significant pressure.

Earlier this month, credit reporting firm Centrix showed an increasing number of borrowers in arrears, heading towards levels last seen four years ago - before the pandemic.

LOTO Luxon is not suitable to be PM.

Centrix managing director, Keith McLaughlin, says even without further rates rises an increasing number of people will have stressed finances.

McLaughlin spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

ℙ𝕣𝕖-𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝔼𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕔 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕌𝕡𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕

One set of numbers, two political parties trying to tell the public what they mean after the government opened its books for pre-election scrutiny.

Labour says the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update shows there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's winning the battle against inflation.

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But National is blaming the government's spending for a delayed return to surplus - and it insists it can still pay for its proposed tax cuts.

Here's political reporter Giles Dexter.

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𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟'𝕤 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕦𝕘𝕝𝕪

The nation's books have been opened - and while there is no forecast recession, and and inflation is expected to dip below 3 percent by December 2024, there are some ugly numbers in front of us. 

Tax revenue is $2.9 billion less than forecast, the deficit is $3 billion more than anticipated, and the pre-election update warns if operational spending in next year's Budget increases by a billion dollars more than planned, the deficit will not switch back to surplus over the ten-year projected period. 

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Unemployment will rise to a peak of 5.4 per cent by 2025, while annual migration is forecast to be 33,000 more than forecast at 100,000. 

Kathryn talks to BNZ Head of Research Stephen Toplis and Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen about how this impacts the incoming government's options.

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