Podcasts about nicola willis

Now I mentioned Thomas Coughlan's excellent piece in the Herald yesterday. He looked at the costings for Labour's policies so far. He got the Treasury costings for them, got Nicola Willis, the Finance Minister's accusations about lack of detail, crunched it right down to give us the best possible chance of getting a real world look at the numbers and whether Labour will be able to afford the policies. It is well worth a read if you haven't already. We'll talk to Thomas tomorrow about the importance of costing all of the parties' different promises. It's not just Labour's, it's just that they've released probably the most policy thus far, shockingly, given how late they were to the party. But all the mainstream media seem to be producing excellent analyses of the different parties' pledges and promises, and we have to read them as we go up to the election. It is so important that we know what we're voting for, what the implications will be if our party of choice is elected. And it doesn't really matter whether you're voting out of self-interest, what's in it for me, whether you're voting for tomorrow's New Zealanders, you have to understand what you're voting for, how it will be paid for, how far in the future the payments are going to be if it's a very expensive promise and pledge, what the bottom lines are. We have to know what we're voting for. Radio New Zealand's looked at the different new taxes being proposed by different parties. Basically, they've looked at the capital gains tax from Labour with comment from economists. They've looked at the land value tax from the Opportunity Party and the Green Party's capital acquisition tax, which is essentially an inheritance tax. And oops on the accounting error from the Greens. What's $800 million here and there, really? Not a great start, but there we go. Newsroom has an opinion piece from Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Andrew Butler claiming that the current Government has enacted laws far too quickly with inadequate consultation or analysis before they're enacted. And they have exhorted people to ask the different parties before the election what the party's attitude is towards the taking of urgency on legislation. The present coalition government has taken record amounts, they say, of urgency and has also avoided select committee scrutiny altogether on some important bills. That's where you get to ask questions of it and test the bill, really. And it's true that the coalition National government has passed more than 90 unique bills using parliamentary urgency since coming to office, nearly half of all the bills passed. Palmer and Butler have a point that it is not good for democracy when the normal protocols are bypassed. But Sir Geoffrey has either forgotten or learned from his mistakes – he was a senior member of the fourth Labour Government, which accorded urgency to a total of 152 bills. Of that total, 107 passed through all the stages under urgency during their term. The paper that the bills were written on was coming off and before the ink was even dry, people were voting on them. Sir Geoffrey is no stranger to urgency and perhaps he's learned that it's wiser to take time before you pass laws. There's a lot that we can do to keep ourselves informed. There's a lot that we can do to understand the implications of what we're voting for. There's a lot that we can do to make politicians more accountable. But what the politicians are relying on is that this stuff is really hard, and it is. And they're making it even harder. Both Labour and the Coalition Government have been very slow to respond to requests for official information. Some of it is vexatious, some of the requests are vexatious and just designed to really annoy and take up the time of the people in charge, but a lot of it is not. It is hard to find the information, to get the information, to compare the information with other information from different agencies and then be able to form a conclusion from it. It's really difficult. But our media's trying to do that on our behalf, and I think thus far they are doing a pretty good job. The politicians and the public service are relying on people to be as complacent as possible. Too busy, too busy working hard, too busy working hard with the kids. You do the thinking for me, you make the decisions for me, and then we moan when we don't like them. I mean, you look at Sir Keir Starmer – gone. Six Prime Ministers in Britain since Brexit because people don't like the news that they're getting. They want somebody to tell them it's going to be all right, and it's not. The world is in a parlous state, and we either have to cut our spending dramatically, and this is the Western world over, or increase taxes or some other way of revenue, getting revenue. It's really difficult. And so we have to know what we're voting for. The onus is on us starting from this election onwards to be informed as we possibly can. Democracy, from the Greek, rule by the people. Let us put the 'demos', the people, back into democracy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The National Party has outlined numerous changes to KiwiSaver they would enact if re-elected. National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis spoke to John Campbell.

Weekly interview with opposition leader, Chris Hipkins; Nicola Willis answers listeners questions on KiwiSaver policy; BBC's Rob Watson discusses Starmer's resignation, Mayors call for cross-party support over bed tax; Author compiles Southern Hemisphere's greatest novels

We've come to the end of a fascinating week in politics. But what week in politics isn't? It kicked off last Sunday with Nicola Willis alleging a massive hidden bill in Labour's policies. She also had a crack at the lack of policies from Labour. And while that entertained her base who already hold that view, there were many who said she pulled the trigger too soon and it was a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. Heather said it was way too soon, and it should have been left to closer to Election Day. Cameron Bagrie said that all parties have hidden bills and because of our fiscal state, all policies are going to have to be paid for by debt. So, Nicola's shot could have backfired. And Audrey Young pointed out that last election Nicola Willis released her fiscal policy with costings only four days before advance voting started, and 17 days before Election Day. This year's election is 141 days away. Look I enjoy this election-style biffo because it's great grist to the mill for people in my job, but I too wonder why National has pulled the trigger so early. It raises the question whether they're very worried about the Opposition beating them. It also shows their hand, and come Election time maybe Labour will be better prepared. Maybe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis and Carmel Sepuloni joined Morning Report this morning for the Weekly Political Panel.

Nicola Willis goes on the offensive to smoke Labour out over a massive $18.2 billion fiscal hole. We pull apart their shaky new public transport policy after a painful interview exposed numbers that simply do not stack up. Plus, former lawyer Christopher Harder joins us ahead of Wednesday to break down shocking allegations of a top-level conspiracy and doctored documents over Pike River. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

News of a peace agreement to be signed this between Iran and the US is prompting optimism about fuel prices and the global economy, but the Finance Minister is staying cautious. Both sides have agreed a deal, to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday - and it's understood the the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and 60 days of nuclear negotiations will commence. Nicola Willis says there's been breakthroughs followed by backsliding over the last few months as the conflict continued. "I'm steeled for possibly bad news, but hopeful this is going to stick because we've already seen the global oil price come down pretty significantly as a result, and I'd love to see it keep coming down." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now we were saying this last week and it hasn't gone away and it's not going to go away as the different parties announce their policies in the lead up to the election. How do we know what's true and what's not when it comes to costings? When it comes to millions and billions of dollars, how do we keep tabs on it? We can't. Nicola Willis says there's an $18.2 billion gaping hole between Labour's promises, which are reinstating the pay equity scheme, billions, the future fund and the cap on public transport, and the money available to fund those policy promises. Labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds says, Really? Willis should take a long hard look at her own accounts and explain the $56 billion hole in the roads of national significance." And so back round we go again. As I mentioned last week, how are we to know when you've got Nicola Willis accusing the former CEO of Kāinga Ora of bidding $10 million more than the next commercial bid on a property back in the bad old days? He says that is an outright lie, it was $2 million more, which, you know, is $1.5 million too much. And then it turns out after, you know, a rule is put over the numbers, it was $8 million. So how are we to know? I thought we had Treasury with a sharpened pencil doing the adding up to see if the promises can be paid for, and we kind of do, but I'm with economist Cameron Bagrie who told Early Edition this morning he's in favour of an independent fiscal institution. Am I in favour of an independent watchdog to go through party political costings? I think that's a step too far. Am I in favour of what's called an independent fiscal institution which sort of sits aside the New Zealand Treasury, such as the Congressional Budget Office in the United States? The answer is yes. You know, I think we need to see a lot more sunlight, a lot more focus on the fiscal accounts, particularly issues such as population ageing and whether things such as New Zealand superannuation and exploding healthcare expenditure is going to be sustainable. Now, they will be sustainable, but the caveat is someone's going to have to pay. You know, the problem at the moment is that we tend to write out the cheques forgetting at some stage someone's going to have to pay and odds are it will be the younger generation down the track. Well exactly, because the promises made today without the money to fund them are the bills the young people have to pay tomorrow and enough's enough, they've got quite enough on their plate. It's a bit of a conundrum really because both National and Labour want to be calling the shots in the next government. They know that most voters are motivated by self interest, those that aren't tribal. They say, "You want my vote? Sure, what's in it for me?" So the parties have to make promises even though they're constrained by the fact that we're in dire straits. And so we need to know that they are promises that can be kept for those of us that care and hopefully, hopefully there are more and more voters that do care. Treasury can provide pre election policy costings but recognised political parties in Parliament are the ones who request the independent costings and analyses. It's not, you know, a public totting up as the policies come out. And rather than evaluating policies in a vacuum, Treasury and other relevant public service agencies assess the financial implications of the policies to ensure consistency and reliability. But as a voter, I think we really need a body that can independently audit each party's promise as they go and see whether they're pie in the sky or doable. And it will only really be the main parties we need to worry about. Minor parties can make all sorts of outlandish promises and then say, Oh soz, the senior coalition partner put the kybosh on them. We really wanted every household in the country to have $1,000 per week but National Labour wouldn't let us do it, so sorry about that." So it's only really National and Labour you need to have a long hard look at. But I would really like to see an independent authority with a head for figures do the sums and explain their workings in layman's terms so every voter will know what we're in for. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MPs may be underestimating just how negatively the public views their use of parliamentary allowances. There's renewed scrutiny of politicians claiming taxpayer-funded accommodation allowances while owning their own Wellington homes. The Opportunity Party is campaigning on reforming the rules. Political commentator Bryce Edwards told Andrew Dickens there could be real public appetite for change. He says story-after-story seems to receive strong feedback. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don't you think it's a bit rich of Nicola Willis to be criticising Labour when, last election, she did exactly what she's accusing Labour of doing? Keeping us in the dark. Every politician is guilty on this front. Which is why I'm right behind the idea being floated by economist Cameron Bagrie today. He's saying that we need to set-up an independent outfit that would help us decide whether what politicians are promising stacks up financially. But let me take you back to the last election. When National was promising tax cuts and saying they were going to be paid for by taxing rich foreigners buying houses here. The party said it was going to get $740 million from the foreign house buyers and, because of that, we were going to pay less tax. And, pretty much straight away, economists and tax experts were poo pooing the idea. Which had us all wanting National to say who gave it advice that this was going to work, when everyone else seemed to think it wouldn't. And what was National's response? Not telling you. I do remember Nicola Willis saying she'd resign if the tax cuts weren't delivered. But she wouldn't - and Christopher Luxon wouldn't - give the type of detail she's now accusing Labour of hiding from us. Which economist Cameron Bagrie says could all be avoided if we had an independent fiscal watchdog, separate from Treasury. He's saying today: “We saw this in 2017, 2020, 2023. One side has a crack at the other in regards to making their numbers stack up. We've been here before. Not surprising.” It was happening way before 2017. Remember in 2011, when there was a pre-election debate in Christchurch, and John Key trotted out the line, which some people think won him the election. “Show me the money,” he said to Phil Goff, who was the Labour Party leader at the time. Fifteen years on, the only thing we can still rely on are the numbers and costings trotted out by the politicians. Labour's public transport policy is an example. They say $65 million and we'll be in bus heaven. I'm not convinced. Maybe I would be if we had this independent outfit Cameron Bagrie is calling for today. Just like we would have had numbers rather than the “just trust us” we got from National at the last election over the foreign buyers tax coviering the cost of you and I paying less PAYE. But we didn't. We thought it was smoke and mirrors. And that's what it turned out to be. Just like Labour's promises and the $18 billion Nicola says isn't accounted for. If we had more transparency, we wouldn't have to rely on politicians on one side telling us we can afford whatever they're promising and politicians on the other side saying no, we can‘t. To give Nicola Willis credit. She has been a fan previously of some sort of way to cost-out party policies. In fact, she wanted to see a publicly-funded outfit that would have done the numbers and worked-out the actual cost of election policies. Or election promises. It had the potential to work-out whether all the talk we get from political parties before an election stacks up. It didn't happen, though. Because ACT and NZ First wouldn't let it happen. But I think we deserve this kind of transparency. In think an agency separate from Treasury that would tell us exactly how things are on the fiscal front, would be brilliant. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis says she's done Labour's homework for them, laying out a list of opposition policy pledges she says are unfunded. Labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds spoke to John Campbell.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday the 15th of June, Barbara Edmonds defends the Labour Party against Nicola Willis' claim of an 18 billion dollar "hidden bill." Mike also talks to the Prime Minister about Labour's spending and whether the government will bring in a bed tax. We find out whether a peace deal between the US and Iran is imminent. Mike's also back from his holiday - and tells us about the joy of seeing your children spreading their wings and living their dreams. The Commentary Box talks the Football World Cup, the upcoming Super Rugby Final and how the Warriors need to bounce back after back-to-back losses. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast Monday 15th of June 2026, Trump says a US/Iran agreement could be signed today, with mediators saying a deal is within reach. Business correspondent Vicky Pryce has the latest on oil prices following a potential US/Iran peace deal, how will the UK pay for defence and forthcoming Bank of England interest rate decision this week and the European Central Bank raised rates a bit, what does it mean for growth? Nicola Willis has called out Labour for having a $18.2 billion spending hole in their policy plan, Independent Economist Cameron Bagrie shares his thoughts on whether we need a independent verifier to stop 'fiscal holes'. Plus UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on British armed forces intercepting a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel and Switzerland votes in a referendum to decide on a proposal to cap their population at 10 million. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis and Carmel Sepuloni joined Morning Report this morning for the Weekly Political Panel.

So the LNG power plant is set to go ahead to protect us when renewables run low. The Government must be satisfied that the business case stacks up, because that's what they said they would consider. At the same time, the Government will be cracking down on power companies during dry-year shortages. Fines for failing to secure enough backup electricity could jump from $2 million to as much as $10 million, or 10 percent of turnover. That's a hefty fine The Electricity Authority will also get stronger powers to monitor supply risks. Energy Minister Simeon Brown says New Zealand's renewable boom still needs reliable backup when hydro lakes are low and wind and solar can't meet demand. He argues that LNG is the fastest and most practical short-term solution to avoid blackouts, soaring prices and business shutdowns during dry years. But of course, the fly in the ointment is: who's going to pay for it? The Government certainly doesn't want to. They've scrapped plans for a levy on power bills to fund the billion-dollar terminal. People argued that would effectively become a gas tax for consumers - and we know this Government does not want to be associated with new taxes. So Brown says the electricity sector will instead help fund the project, with two companies now shortlisted to build it - and there's the rub. If it's a gentailer - if the gentailers foot the bill - they are the electricity sector. So how can the Government prevent them from passing on the cost? It's the same pickle they got into with the levy on banks. Nicola Willis was adamant that banks would not pass those costs on to New Zealanders. But when pressed in an interview on Q+A, she couldn't give a reason why they wouldn't - other than the goodness of their hearts. The Government can't force a private company to, you know, absorb costs within its structure. There's an aversion to increasing taxes but at the moment all they're doing is passing the job on to private companies, which will - of course - factor these costs into their pricing. That includes the cost of the LNG terminal. So call it whatever you like - the result is the same. We all end up paying for it, one way or another. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has quietly set aside $1 billion from next year's Budget but is refusing to say where it'll go. It amounts to 22 million dollars in 2027/28, before ramping up over a four-year period. Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen told Heather du Plessis-Allan that this is not a common occurance. "That is just a little bit of an odd approach," he said. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now, I can't imagine Labour's woken up feeling awesome this morning about how that reset is going. What do you think? This is a reset – you do realise that. After months of saying nothing, having no new policy and generating headlines for Ayesha Verrall singing weird songs about ducks, they started this week with a classic reset move. They got themselves a story in the Herald on Monday, claiming Nicola Willis tried to hide secret spending in the Budget. Then they followed it up really quickly with a list announcement, unveiling the policeman candidate. And then tomorrow they were supposed to have their big, substantive policy announcement – something they haven't done in months. It was meant to be this run of good news. Unfortunately for them, it's gone a little bit pear-shaped, hasn't it? The “secret money” has turned out to actually just be an accounting provision. The list announcement got derailed by Greg O'Connor taking a crack at them. Then the new guy for one of the Māori seats revealed there's some tax relief policy coming – which he wasn't supposed to say. Then Chippy got busted for using his government KiwiSaver to buy a bach, and the policeman didn't tell his bosses early enough that he was off to join the Labour Party. All of this is not a good look for Labour, because they can hardly expect to convince voters they're ready to govern if they can't even get 24 hours' worth of announcements to go to plan without being derailed by four or five different issues. But to be fair to Labour, the last 24–48 hours is really not the end of the world. A lot of this is pretty beltway stuff – at least the parts involving the policeman are. In five months' time, when the election rolls around, no one but the biggest political nerds in this country will remember any of it. Five months gives them plenty of time to fix all of this, but they really do have to get on and fix it, because this is the same problem, just repeated – the same problem as the Ayesha Verrall duck-song situation. It looks like a party unable to get its act together and just do one thing properly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister is promising more detail is coming regarding a billion dollar pre-Budget allocation. The funding's been labelled 'secret spending' by Labour. Nicola Willis says this reflects the Government's provision for a potential capital to operating forecast change in transport spend - that can be subject to future decisions. "That is literally what it is, and we will be taking policy decisions on that over the next few weeks and months." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TSB and Heartland Bank are looking to join forces by the end of the year. TSB owner Toi Foundation's seeking feedback on the plan to join with Heartland Bank, to the tune of $620 million. Finance Minister Nicola Willis welcomes this decision to team up and take on the big Australian banks. "That's positive, and good for the state of banking competition." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Secretly, I think Nicola Willis and Winston Peters are enjoying their performative scrap against each other. Their war of words highlights the differences between each party and their philosophies and that's handy in an election year. Nicola's warnings over superannuation reinforce her credentials as the representative of fiscal prudence - the guardian of our economy. Winston's refusal to change super in any way, shape or form reinforces his credentials as a defender of the rights of the elderly. But it also reinforces something we should never forget about Winston Peters. He's in this Government and is being seen, along with his coalition partners, as a warrior against excessive Government spending. Yet his track record suggests otherwise. I mean, who can forget his Provincial Growth Fund - that $3 billion lolly scramble that was criticised by the Audit Office for a lack of oversight? Even in this coalition Government, he has continued to have a slush fund for regional development. The New Zealand First Regional Fund is a $1.2 billion capital fund established in the coalition agreement. And now, his Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been revealed to be a major funder of the Moana Pasifika rugby side since its inception. There is also talk he is willing to mount some sort of salvage campaign, again using taxpayers' money. I think it's important to remind ourselves that, in some respects, Winston Peters is an old-fashioned conservative -but he also resembles an old-fashioned socialist who believes in the primacy of Government and in the paternalistic splashing around of public money to curry favour. These are all things to remember if you are abandoning National for New Zealand First under the false belief that Winston will introduce greater financial rigour than already exists. It also serves as a reminder of why Winston went with Labour back in 2017 in the first place. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government wants us to think they are being caring but responsible with this budget, but the economists aren't buying it. We look past the 30 press releases to find out what this means for your back pocket. From a sneaky new banking tax on savers to kicking real savings down the road, we break down why the math just doesn't add up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Return to surplus? Nicola Willis charts economic recovery Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered her third and final Budget Day speech for the parliamentary term this week. A Budget delivering investment in health, infrastructure and defence, the Minister has described it as "responsible" - while Opposition voices have criticised the lack of stimulus for ordinary New Zealanders facing cost-of-living pressures. The big bonus is a forecast return to surplus in financial year 2028/29, one year earlier than previously forecast, using the government's favoured forecasting tool, OBEGALx. Five months out from the general election, Nicola Willis joins Jack Tame to discuss the government's record on economic stewardship, why the new bank tax won't be passed onto consumers, and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's "freeloaders" comment on New Zealand's defence spending. Children's Commissioner: The cost of child poverty In Budget 2026, Treasury published New Zealand's latest child poverty statistics. It's a grim picture, and one that isn't improving much: the number of households in material hardship is estimated to be 14 percent, with a 2028 target of six percent. Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad joins Jack Tame to lay out the cost of persistent child poverty and discusses the workability of a forthcoming ban of social media for under-16s. Why populist nationalism won't stop immigration Five months from the election, immigration is being framed by political parties as a critical election issue, with the Prime Minister warning the wrong policies could damage social cohesion. In New Zealand in 2026, migration is the main source of population growth, with the nation's fertility rate slumping to 1.6, below replacement levels. Is an immigration backlash the inevitable response to a globalising world? Jack Tame speaks to author and CEO of geospatial analytics company AlphaGeo Dr Parag Khanna. Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered her third and final Budget Day speech for the parliamentary term this week. A Budget delivering investment in health, infrastructure and defence, the Minister has described it as "responsible" - while Opposition voices have criticised the lack of stimulus for ordinary New Zealanders facing cost-of-living pressures. The big bonus is a forecast return to surplus in financial year 2028/29, one year earlier than previously forecast, using the government's favoured forecasting tool, OBEGALx. Five months out from the general election, Nicola Willis joins Jack Tame to discuss the government's record on economic stewardship, why the new bank tax won't be passed onto consumers, and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's "freeloaders" comment on New Zealand's defence spending. Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

Keeping NZ super as it is, is a strike against intergenerational equity according to the Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Winston Peter's has described her comments as a "sad point". There were no changes to the super scheme in the Budget. But the finance minister took the opportunity to raise serious concerns about the cost of the universal benefit. Nicola Willis said super costs are rising sharply with the bill going from $20 billion in 2020 to a forecast $30 billion in 2030. NZ First Leader Winston Peters spoke to Lisa Owen.

While presenting Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nicola Willis shared a prediction that New Zealand will reach a $2.6 billion surplus by 2028-29. ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Heather du Plessis-Allan the prediction was 'a little bit rosy'. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dust is settling on Budget 2026, and we are digging past the political marketing to look at the real maths. Nicola Willis delivered a masterclass in selling a narrative, but when you look closely at the numbers, things look incredibly heroic. We break down the magic show, look at the massive debt track, and reveal the inexplicable cuts hidden deep in the police budget. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Newstalk ZB political correspondent Barry Soper joins Heather du Plessis-Allan to chat all things budget week. They also discuss the other political news you may have missed in all the budget noise. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis hopes her Budget will convince voters to re-elect the Government in November. It includes significant investment in infrastructure and health. It also shows a return to surplus in the 2028/29 financial year – a year sooner than previously forecast. The forecast uses the OBEGALx measure, which excludes ACC. Willis told Mike Hosking her message is simple. She says the Opposition would borrow and spend more, which would put the country's future at risk. The Finance Minister is also defending the new 1% levy on banks, insurers, and other financial market participants, which would be used to regulate the sector. Willis yesterday directed banks not to pass on the cost of the levy to their customers, saying they're the most profitable companies in the country and do very well for themselves. Asked by Hosking why she didn't increase tax on high-earning individuals like himself using the same logic, Willis said she didn't want him “flying off overseas”. She says that the idea that taxing high-earners more and they'll be more inclined to invest in New Zealand doesn't make sense, but when it comes to banks, it's a tiny, tiny levy relative to their bottom line. The move brings New Zealand into line with other countries like Australia and the UK, Willis says. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 29th of May, we got the trades' reaction to the Budget and an economist's thoughts on what the books might look like in a couple years' time. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Winston Peters both relay their wins from Budget Day. And Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson discuss Mike's holiday, the Music Awards, and Oura Rings. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is Budget Day in New Zealand, and we are looking at the brutal truth behind the numbers. Nicola Willis says the adults are back in charge of the books, but is this just creative accounting? We look at how banking public service cuts, before they even happen, are the only reason we are getting back to surplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The surplus train's left the station early in Budget news today, with the country expected to be out of deficit by 2028/29, a year ahead of predictions. Government Ministers are trumpeting that figure, alongside a focus on health and infrastructure. The Waikato Expressway will get 12 more kilometres, Whangarei a new hospital wing and new police stations are on the horizon for Whanganui and Greymouth. The biggest surprise is a tax on banks and insurers, worth roughly $50 million dollars a year. The bowel cancer screening age will lower to 56 by September and increased health funding aims to increase surgeries and reduce wait times. $450 million has been set aside for targeted support, in case the fuel crisis worsens. Finance Minister Nicola Willis says things are tough - but its not the time for lolly scrambles. She says the crisis is hitting many hard - but the country will bounce back with growth and increasing wages. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, NZ Herald senior correspondent Katie Bradford and Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Budget 2026 was unveiled today - what did we make of it? Do we think we'll reach surplus by 2028/29? Will debt really come down? Nicola Willis also says we need to have a discussion around superannuation amid ongoing cost concerns. Do we see NZ First siding with this? Will this lead to another battle? What do we make of the new levy on banks? Is it enough? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, you would have done well to heed Nicola Willis's warnings ahead of this Budget that there would be no spend-up, because there is no spend-up. There is no money for - well, there is money for the important stuff. You've got the schools and the classrooms, and the hospitals, and the Waikato Expressway, and Winston Peters' pet projects. But everywhere else, there is just no new money. It is tight. Now, that is exactly how it should be. And in fact, I would say this still doesn't go far enough. For the third Nicola Willis Budget in a row, it isn't tight enough because we haven't even hit our debt peak yet. We are still going up that peak mountain. That is still two years away, which means that interest payments are already at $9 billion and they're only going to go up. It's going to take us to about 2040, roughly, before debt is back to where Bill English left it as a proportion of GDP. And that is just the most optimistic scenario. The rest of the scenario is basically never getting back down to where Bill English left it. Nicola Willis is making a virtue today of the fact that she's getting the books back in black by 2028/29, which she says is earlier than expected. But that is a little bit of game-playing that's going on, because it was always going to be 2028/29 until December. Then in December it changed, then it became 2029/30. Now it's just been brought back again to where it was about six months ago. And that is only, by the way, because Nicola Willis is using a made-up measure, OBEGALX, which makes surplus appear a year earlier than the standard old measure, which basically would have had surplus arriving only in 2030 or thereabouts. And by the way, all of this is a broken promise, because Nicola Willis promised the country that if you voted for National at the last election, she would have the books back in the black. When? Today. This year. But after three Budgets, I think we've learned to temper our expectations on that front. Now, on the bright side though, she has decided to borrow $6 billion less than she had planned to. I will take that. And while there is a lot of poor spending that continues, at least there isn't new, more poor spending. And for that, I suppose you have to give the Budget a solid holding-pattern score of 6 out of 10. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 28 May, 2026, Nicola Willis debuts her 2026 Budget - sugar hit not included. She tells Heather why she didn't cut harder. Chris Hipkins gives his take on the Budget. He says the Government continues to fail at making life better for Kiwis. How good will a newly announced extension of the Waikato Expressway be? Cambridge Mayor Mike Pettit couldn't be more excited. Plus, Katie Bradford and Maurice Williamson discuss how Winston Peters got away with more cash for his pet projects. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The finance minister said there'll be no surprises and no sugar hits in this year's Budget, as she picks up her pride and joy from the printer. Nicola Willis isn't giving it a nickname this year, but one of her coalition partners is calling it a tough love Budget. MPs are split on whether they should apply some of that tough love to themselves, as their perks and pay rises come into the spotlight. Political reporter Giles Dexter has more.

Nicola Willis and Carmel Sepuloni discuss tomorrow's Budget on Morning Report, for our Weekly Political Panel.

Here's a PR tip for the coalition Government: if they want to win support for their ongoing budget cuts - which affect some of the poorest people in this country - they should consider giving up something themselves. Now, I don't know if you saw this last week, but Stuff ran a damning story on Louise Upston, the Social Development Minister, who is a lovely woman and a very capable minister - but the optics were terrible. While she's forcing some of the poorest Kiwis in this country to pay more towards housing before they get any help from the taxpayer, she is claiming $1000 a week from the taxpayer to rent her Wellington apartment - from herself. Today, we hear that MPs are again due to get a pay rise in July, bumping their pay up by 2 percent to, in the case of Cabinet ministers like Louise, $327,000 a year. Now, I raised this with Nicola Willis on the show. She's not prepared to touch MPs' pay or allowances, and neither is the Prime Minister, when he was asked about it today. Their excuse is that the money is decided by the independent Remuneration Authority. But anyone who's been around for more than five minutes knows that's a crock because MPs are the ultimate lawmakers They can override the Remuneration Authority and they have done so before - Jacinda Ardern froze MPs' pay for six years back in 2018. Now, frankly, quite independently of this whole argument, I personally think it is well overdue that MPs' perks are reined in. They are far too generous. These guys get really good pay but on top of that, they receive expense allowances of at least $19,000 for things like flowers and coffees, up to $52,000 in accommodation allowances -which they can use on their own apartments - fully paid travel and a superannuation scheme so generous it can be worth up to $70,000 a year on top of their salary. So, you can add somewhere between $120,000 and $140,000 at least in perks to their base pay. That is hard to accept at a time when our budgets are so tight that we are, quite rightly, asking state house tenants to pay another $31 a week to square things off - and when we are, quite rightly, cutting nearly 9000 public servants. But quite rightly, we should also be taking another look at just how much money we sink into MPs every year. I know MPs don't want to do this. No one wants to give up the entitlements they're entitled to. But if they want to increase public support for their budget cuts, they could do with showing they're prepared to give up a little themselves. Because when you ask the country's poorest to take one for the team - or more specifically, the team's budget - you should be prepared to take one for the team too. It's called leadership. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some more leaked audio has gotten the Labour Party in trouble, with MP Barbara Edmonds apologising for off-colour comments directed at the Finance Minister. The audio obtained by the Herald features a moderator asking various Labour MPs whether they'd rather fight "100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck." Edmonds' answer apparently referenced Nicola Willis. Willis says she's accepted Edmonds' apology - but this event says a lot about Labour's conduct this election year. "Step one - demonize your opponent. Step two - waffle on about values. Well, how about just answering the question? I guess that would require some actual policies." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the Nicola Willis public service announcement to be admired or condemned? I think the former, on balance. They should have done it properly two years ago and they didn't, hence they probably should not be back here now, unless this was their Machiavellian plan all along. Two public service haircuts a term. But assuming that wasn't it, we go back to a lost opportunity that could be in the rear vision mirror by now. What they talked was a big game. What they delivered was a surgical whimper. Yes, it is always sad to lose jobs and restructure and cut. But few outside the Wellington bubble would argue with the fact that the growth engine of public service work was absurd and 65,000 is a city, not a workforce. To make it worse, they got the same headlines and noise and pushback over a couple of thousand cuts as they would have ten times that. So we are back for another crack, driven by necessity. That's the bit to be admired. Laying lots of people off in election year is not really a vote-getter Mind you it's safe, I think, to say most of the public service aren't conservatives so the vote loss, you'd guess, will be minimal. It's a horrible thing working in an environment where your future is part of the political wind. I faced it at TVNZ and Radio NZ. Whoever woke up on what side of the bed had some effect on what you were paid and whether you were hanging around for a while. It's no way to have a job. And in that sense, you can blame the Labour Government for stacking the place with well-paid work. And yet as you applied, if you thought about it, surely it couldn't last, and it hasn't. As the unions bleat, this is not about the public service and its value. They do a lot of good things and a lot of vital things. There are a lot of very capable, if not talented, people in the mix. But it's the extra, the excess and the fat that needs the trimming. This is fiscally desperate to a degree – an operating allowance of $2.1 billion and savings from anywhere and everywhere. You can't accuse the Government of priming the pumps. The pumps don't work because "the vandals took the handles", if you know your Bob Dylan. The point is slashing spending and killing jobs is not your traditional electioneering. That's to be admired. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The funding feud between Nicola Willis and Winston Peters is continuing, amid revelations the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will not have to find savings in this year's Budget.

Winston Peters has come out on top in his funding feud with Nicola Willis, successfully saving his Ministry of Foreign Affairs from any cuts in this year's Budget. Deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to John Campbell.

I've got to tell you something – I'm embarrassed. Watching this public debate about how many public servant jobs are going to be cut in order to make way for AI is just embarrassing. The fact we're having this debate at all is ultimately Nicola Willis's fault, because she listed three expectations when she announced the reform of the public service: 1) That agencies amalgamate 2) That there is a cap of 55,000 people in the public sector 3) That the public sector digitises and adopts AI Because AI is the new bogeyman that everybody is supposed to be afraid of, the media then became obsessed with it. They started contacting ministers' offices and demanding to know what we're actually meant to do with AI. The verdict, however, was many ministers weren't actually sure what they would be doing in their portfolios. And it's embarrassing in the same way it's embarrassing watching your parents or grandparents discuss that newfangled technology that's absolutely going to change our lives, without any real grip on its uses and limitations, because they don't actually use it. It feels like blaming the public service cull in the 1980s on those new computer devices that were going to replace all the workers. Except we're all still working, we're just each using a computer. Let's be honest about AI, okay? For those of us out there who don't use it and ask, “What is this?”, AI is probably hugely overpromising. It's not going to do all the things or replace all the workers that you think it will. At the moment, it's mostly really good for summarising, drafting, searching documents, handling repetitive admin, and managing customer service. There are some obvious applications for AI, like helping a beneficiary find all their entitlements by going through an AI system on a computer, without having to tie up a person on the phone for an hour. But AI cannot really be relied on for more complex tasks that require humans, like risk assessment, ethical judgments, or political management. No one who actually uses AI thinks it's going to replace 8,700 jobs – or even a quarter of those jobs, or even a tenth of them. Having this debate actually feels quite silly. Public service numbers need to come down with or without AI. AI doesn't have to be part of this debate. We have 16,000 more public servants than we did nine years ago, and no one's getting better service. So you don't need all those people – that's the argument. AI, here, is just a distraction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis and Carmel Sepuloni joined Morning Report this morning for the Weekly Political Panel.

Another swathe of Government agency job cuts and public sector reform. Finance Minister Nicola Willis says they want to return the public servant headcount to 1% of the population by mid-2029, culling about 8,700 jobs. Government agency operating budgets will again be reduced – 2% now, increasing over following years. Willis says they will also thin out the ministries, pointing to savings it'll bring. She says they expect to hire more nurses, Police officers, and others in critical frontline roles. Willis says AI is “incredible” at slashing the amount of time needed for mundane tasks, revealing her staff used it to write a report on public service reform. She told Mike Hosking the Government was streamlining agencies and embedding AI and digitisation, and asking the public service to "get out of the 80s". She was experimenting with AI in her own office. “Instead of one of my analysts spending half a day coming up with a document, they said to AI, ‘Have a look at public service reform around the world, tell us who's done what, what seems to have worked well, what hasn't'. “And 10 minutes later, you've got a beautiful document with some guidance and some advice.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 20th of May, Finance Minister Nicola Willis unpacks the public service cuts and we hear from the head of Commonwealth Sport as Auckland hosts the Oceania National Olympic Committees' General Assembly. Team NZ CEO Grant Dalton joins out of Sardinia as the America's Cup officially gets underway. And Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell discuss the lack of details in Labour's Future Fund and Winston Peters' idea for BNZ on Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Niki Bezzant and Conor English. First up, nine thousand public service jobs to go says Nicola Willis in another pre-budget announcement. What will this mean and will the savings really be that significant? Then, is New Zealand a tax haven like Bermuda or the Cayman Islands? The Australians seem to think so.

Nicola Willis and Carmel Sepuloni joined Morning Report this morning for the Weekly Political Panel.

Govt law change halts emissions damage lawsuits; Weekly Political Panel with Nicola Willis and Carmel Sepuloni; Chatham Islands face major electricity price hike; Latest from London as calls grow for PM to resign; Sir Graham Henry speaks to John Campbell

The government says in a worst case scenario, fuel would be rationed according to need - from critical services at the top to the general public at the bottom. Nicola Willis spoke to John Campbell.