Follow the podcast on

Mike's Minute: My thoughts on the Budget

Author: Mike Hosking ,
Publish Date: Fri, 29 May 2026, 10:32am

I asked for the surplus to arrive sooner than previously forecast and, as though she was listening this time yesterday, the first words out of Nicola Willis' mouth were it will be a year ahead of schedule.

You can't ask for more than that.

That’s not an election year lolly, but I'm increasingly of the belief that a growing number of New Zealanders have got the message.

A growing number of us have been shaken into the cold, hard reality that $9 billion a year in debt servicing is absurd and it can't continue.

We need to cut our cloth and that, in many respects, was what yesterday was about.

It's probably brave in election year to run things this tight. But it's also the adult thing to do.

So the message, politically, is stark. If you want free stuff the current Government aren't really for you. If you want grown-ups paying for life as they earn it then this may be the lot that gets your vote.

I do worry about health. Yes, health was a big, multibillion dollar winner and the hardware, the facilities and the equipment need a spruce up and, yes, bits and parts are squeezed.

But the health bill for five million people seems amazing to me and not in a good way. There has to be savings to be had there.

$17,000 for every house is not right. I didn’t use my $17,000 last year, so someone did.

The roads improvements in the tricky bits of the country I like. Build them properly and deal to the future – don’t patch it up.

We already know about education. A revolution is on and we will all be better for it.

You know I'm a trades fan. There were big wins for good, old fashioned, but increasingly important, jobs. Not every kid wants a BA and even if they did get one, it doesn’t mean a job is waiting. The world will always want a sparky or a mechanic.

There were the basics, the rational and the logic. There was a good message about three parties doing collegial work. There were wins for each of them, all mixed up with the overarching message that the madness, fiscally, has stopped and the reality has arrived.

But, big picture, get it right. This is a place that has its best days ahead of it.

I liked it. It's an easy 7/10.