Willis promised a disciplined, growth-oriented plan, but the numbers tell a grim story of cuts, broken promises, higher debt, and a shaky economic foundation that’s more about political posturing than the prosperity she promised.
Today, the ODT reported:
Treasury forecast this year's deficit, using the newly introduced calculation excluding ACC costs, to the end of June would be $10.2 billion, about $2.7 billion lower than forecasted.
The deficit will peak in the coming year at $12.1 billion, nearly $2 billion more than the December forecast, with the 2027 forecast nearly double the previous forecast at $8.1 billion.
There’s a lot to dislike in Nicola Willis' austerity budget, but lets start with the low hanging fruit. Budget 2025 slashes the operating allowance to a measly $1.3 billion, down from $2.4 billion, a move Willis touts as being fiscally responsible. But this isn’t prudence…it’s a deliberate starvation of public services that will impact the poor and elderly the most. Treasury estimates $2.5 billion is needed just to maintain existing services, meaning Willis’ numbers fall woefully short, which will force departments to gut frontline programs. Health, education, and justice face the chopping block, with “reprioritisations” siphoning billions to fund tax breaks for the wealthy.
The Budget has used close to $13 billion from the now-revamped pay equity scheme.
Slashing $12.8 billion from pay equity settlements disproportionately impacts women in low-paid sectors like care work. It’s an incredibly short-sighted move that will have negative economic consequences well-into the future. How exactly is the government going to encourage more care workers to train or stay in New Zealand at a time when our ageing population is putting high demand on the sector? You certainly cannot work yourself into home ownership In New Zealand on those wages. National’s claim of “economic growth” is laughable when Nicola Willis’ austerity obsession has led to the biggest cuts to government investment in a generation.
REVEALED!
— Fleur Fitzsimons (@FleurFitzsimons) May 22, 2025
Pay equity betrayal cost New Zealand women over $12 billion dollars!
Wage theft from New Zealand women from a Government that was elected to fix cost of living crisis. #shame
The pay equity rollback is the Budget’s ugliest stain. Willis’ claim that the previous Labour government’s pay equity regime was a “blank cheque” is a convenient fiction to justify slashing future settlements. This isn’t fiscal discipline; it’s a calculated attack on 180,000 workers, mostly women, who were finally clawing their way toward fair pay and a liveable wage. This budget is a desperate scramble to plug even more holes from Willis’ $10 billion in tax cuts and $2.9 billion for landlords, funded by $12 billion in additional borrowing she swore she’d never do. Her resignation promise? Conveniently forgotten.
Then there’s the KiwiSaver tinkering that’s going to hurt everyday hard working New Zealanders. National halving government contributions again and hiking default rates to 3.5% then 4% means less money in people’s back pockets. How stupid is this when the working poor are already drawing down their retirement savings because the cost-of-living crisis is causing hardship? Willis spins the Kiwisaver changes as boosting retirement savings, but it’s a cruel joke when employers are expected to offset 80% of the cost by suppressing wages. Everybody knows that we must fix our low-waged economy to keep our best and brightest people here. But National is acting like the mass exodus happening under their watch doesn’t matter.
Actually hilarious how they're spinning cutting the govt contribution to kiwisaver but increasing the amounts coming from our own pay checks as a massive win for workers
— Tīmoti (@komerata) May 22, 2025
The National Party’s numbers don’t add up, and the economic backdrop exposes Nicola Willis’ dangerous gamble. Global uncertainty, driven mainly by Trump’s tariffs, has Treasury revising growth forecasts downward, with GDP expected to contract by 0.8% this year alone. Despite the economy needing some real growth incentives, Willis doubles down on austerity, ignoring warnings from numerous economists that cuts to services could further impact an already stalled recovery. So where are the surpluses she promised? Instead we’re going to have larger and extended deficits because of National’s economic mismanagement. Nobody is spending money, record numbers of businesses are closing and the government’s tax take is already reduced by $3 billion per year.
Willis said she was proud to get deficits lower and reduce debt levels.
Willis is obviously talking complete BS. In fact it's perhaps the dumbest consequence of the National coalitions economic mismanagement…that being New Zealand’s debt to GDP will continue to grow. The National-led government’s Budget 2025, with its $12 billion in borrowing, will push the core Crown debt-to-GDP ratio to a precarious 46% by 2028. Despite Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ claims of fiscal discipline, the budget’s reliance on borrowing to fund tax cuts and business incentives, coupled with a weaker economic outlook due National’s mismanagement and global uncertainties, will delay fiscal surpluses to at least 2029, keeping debt dangerously elevated. And that’s before we even factor in some credit ratings downgrades.
18 year olds today have just been robbed of $60,000 for their retirement.
— Richard Hills (@RichardHills_) May 22, 2025
That’s based on removing $260 a year with average of 6% annual return.
National have previously.
- axed the $1000 kickstart
- removed $521 a year in govt contributions
- taxed employer contributions
Nicola Willis means-testing for 18 and 19-year-olds unfairly penalises young people, restricting access to benefits based on parental income. This punitive measure treats them as children and ignores their independence, exacerbating inequality for young adults who are estranged from their parents, which will stifle opportunities for vulnerable youth just starting out. Along with the high cost of living, this artificial age of independence will also discourage young people from leaving the nest, further hindering a major step in a young persons life. Many will have to continue living in precarious situations, or undertake questionable employment, which is yet another sign that the coalition of chaos views young people with disdain.
When Winston Peters threatened to cut RNZ funding in April 2025, it was because Corin Dann on Morning Report dared to question the senile fool about the NZ First's bigoted member’s bill seeking to define what a woman is. Peters took issue with Dann’s entirely respectful line of questioning, which included him repeating opposition arguments against the bill from Labour and the Greens. The dictator incorrectly accused RNZ of bias and “running the line of political opponents" and has now made good on his threats, ushering in a terrible day for our so-called democracy.
But this isn't just a vendetta budget...it's an all debt and nothing but deficits budget as well...a shuffle the deck chairs budget. By prioritising corporate handouts and relying on political optics as cover instead of doing the right thing for workers, families, and the vulnerable, the coalition of chaos is setting New Zealand back decades. Willis’ “responsible” Budget is a house of cards, built on broken promises and shaky numbers, leaving New Zealanders to pick up the pieces. Nobody voted for this type of austerity…and nobody should vote for a National-led government ever again.
