𝔹𝕦𝕕𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟝: 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕤’ 𝔸𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝔸𝕩𝕖 𝔹𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕎𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕟, 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕊𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕤 ℕℤ’𝕤 𝔽𝕦𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖

𝔹𝕦𝕕𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟝 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕪𝕒𝕝, 𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕡𝕒𝕪 𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝟚𝟘𝟘,𝟘𝟘𝟘 𝕨𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕟, 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕫𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕒𝕩 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙, 𝕖𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖. 𝔸𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪, 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕’𝕤 𝕗𝕦𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕕 𝕒 𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕝𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕝 𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤.

T

he New Zealand Budget 2025, dropped on May 22, by Finance Minister Nicola Willis, is a gutless, cynical betrayal of a nation clawing its way out of a brutal recession, serving up a toxic cocktail of austerity, corporate pandering, and social neglect that spits in the face of struggling Kiwis. 

Branded a "Growth Budget," it’s a masterclass in spin, papering over a 4.6% per capita GDP collapse since September 2022—worse than the Global Financial Crisis—with half-baked measures that prioritize political point-scoring over real recovery. 

The economy is on life support, with Treasury forecasting a pathetic 0.2% GDP contraction for the year to June 2024 and a measly 1.75% growth by June 2025. 

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Related:

𝔻𝕚𝕕 ℕ𝕚𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕒 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕤 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕠𝕠𝕞?

𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒 𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕠𝕣 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕒𝕩

𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕒 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕤 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕨𝕒𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕩 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕝𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝟡𝟘𝟘𝟘 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖

ℂ𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕄ℙ𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕦𝕥 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕤 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕕

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Inflation’s down to 2%, sure, thanks to the Reserve Bank’s 125-basis-point rate cuts since August 2024, but nominal GDP growth—vital for tax revenue—is a sluggish 4.4% in 2024 and 4.2% in 2025, kneecapped by global threats like Trump’s looming tariffs. 

The government’s response? A spineless fiscal strategy that slashes the operating allowance to a pitiful $1.3 billion—lowest in real terms since 2017—chasing a delusional OBEGAL surplus by 2027/28, a year late because tax revenue’s tanking. 

Net core Crown debt, ballooning to 43.5% of GDP in 2024/25 and flirting with the 50% ceiling, exposes this as a high-stakes gamble: borrowing to fund tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners while the corporate sector’s tax contributions flatline, signaling an economy still in the gutter. 

The budget’s allocations are a slap in the face. 

The $604 million for health is a cruel joke for a system crumbling under years of neglect—good luck fixing hospitals with pocket change.

 

RNZ Morning Report asked tax payers on the street their impressions of Budget 2025. courtesy: 𝐑𝐍𝐙

Education and infrastructure get lip service, but the $6.6 billion business handout smells like a corporate welfare scam, with no guarantee of jobs or growth. 

The $577 million for the film industry is an elitist vanity project, while prison expansions under law-and-order spending scream “tough on crime” posturing over addressing root causes like poverty. 

Climate resilience? Barely a footnote, leaving New Zealand defenseless against a warming planet. 

Worst of all, the budget’s vicious axing of 33 pay equity claims—impacting 200,000 workers, mostly women in education, healthcare, and social work—is a middle finger to gender justice. 

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Related:

𝕃𝕠𝕨-𝕨𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝔸𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕒'𝕤 𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕞𝕪

ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕪 𝕕𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕠 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕔 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘

𝔸𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕤: ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕂𝕚𝕨𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝔸𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕒

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These claims were a lifeline to close the 9% gender wage gap, but billions have been siphoned to defense and tax cuts, leaving families destitute and public services on the brink. 

Unions are gearing up for war, and they should—Social media posts are ablaze with rage, calling this a heartless sellout of the vulnerable. 

Economists warn global risks could torch the budget’s flimsy 1.75% growth forecast, yet there’s no Plan B. 

Budget 2025 isn’t just a failure—it’s a cowardly, inequitable disaster that kicks the poor, betrays women, and gambles New Zealand’s future on empty promises and fiscal fairytales.

𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝔅𝔯𝔲𝔠𝔢 𝔄𝔩𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔢

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