Guess what? New Zealand's in economic trouble. I know, I know, who would have thought it? Well, we did. You know it, I know it. We've known it for a very, very long time, right from the very start when Labour began throwing money around. There were the Cassandras coming on the radio saying, “Oh, you're going to have to pay it back. All very well and good now, probably the right thing to do, but at some point we're going to have to pay it back." 

“The outlook is negative, so it indicates that there is a chance of a downgrade.” 

Okay, and what does that mean? Well, it's not just national pride, it means that it will cost us more to borrow money, which will add even more to our outstanding debt. And it's all very well and good for Finance Minister Nicola Willis to start putting the brakes on now. As has become common these days, the Budget will be no surprise. You know the details of the Budget pretty much before it's announced. But I would argue her budget is a budget that should have been presented three years ago. She told Mike Hosking this morning that getting the books back in order is more important than ever. 

“We have to be very careful about the choices we make. And gone are the days, I think, when political campaigns will be about what new spending program you can design to dish out more lolly in a creative way. We're now in a time where the task for sensible leaders is to say, “What are the investments required to drive the things that will support growth, living standards, and affordability into the future?" And that's why, of course, we've made that decision. Actually, the Fees Free program, it doesn't cut it in this new age. It's not delivering results. That is investment that should be made elsewhere in things that really matter. And there have been choices like that throughout this budget process.” 

Good, but I would argue the tax cuts were a dumb choice. It was an election bribe. Spending on capital infrastructure, which is an investment in the future, that's not dumb spending. Silly tax cuts that made no meaningful difference to people's lives, I'd say that was a dumb choice. National came in saying that they had the answers, they had the lever, they knew which levers to pull to get the economy back on track. I think they made some dumb choices along the way, and this is the Budget that should have been delivered in Nicola Willis's first term as Finance Minister.  

They are streets ahead of a Labour-Greens coalition in terms of economic prudence. I mean, there is just absolutely, absolutely no choice if you're looking for economic prudence. Labour hasn't even got a plan, hasn't even released the plan – at least the Greens have released a plan. You might not agree with it, but they do have a plan. Labour, no, they're waiting till after the Budget and let's see what miracles they can put up. But how the hell are they going to pay for pay equity, which is going to cost billions and billions of ongoing dollars? If they promise that, then that should be enough to consign them to oblivion.