National's "zero ideas, zero leadership" Budget hurts but doesn't help. It is a tinkering Budget that fails to address the fundamental challenges our country's economy faces.
Hundreds of public service workers gathered at Parliament today to protest funding cuts in today's budget.
The Government has slashed $700 million in this year's budget to pump more money into core services, but opponents say it has been less than transparent about where the axe will fall.
A double downer, focused but far-sighted, short-sighted, sugar-coated, a sedative before major surgery, boring in a positive way, safe, and a big zero - all terms used to describe the budget.
The Government put Parliament into urgency tonight to pass a bill enacting the budget changes to KiwiSaver and Working for Families.
The Government's budget is responsible but the predicted return to surplus is heavily contingent on the predicted economic recovery, economists said.
Tertiary education groups are calling today's budget "short-sighted" and a negative step for the future of the country.
The cash-hungry health sector got the lion's share of reprioritised money in today's budget, but critics say the extra funding comes from slashing some areas to apply a band-aid in others.
The newly established Electoral Commission has received an extra $7 million in today's budget, paving the way for further reform.
A funding boost for schools in this year's budget has failed to impress, with unions saying the extra money does not keep up with inflation.
The Government is telling both employers and employees to put more money into KiwiSaver to help increase savings, while it halves its tax credit support and taxes compulsory employer contributions that had been exempt.
Science and innovation were spared big cuts in today's budget, but the scientific community is uneasy about a lack of new funding to drive innovation.
The New Zealand dollar rose after the Government's budget was released and bond yields fell mostly because credit rating companies expressed comfort with the document while leaving ratings unchanged.
Government departments will have to find more than $200 million a year to fund employer contributions for retirement schemes following changes in today's budget.
Whanau Ora will be injected an extra $30 million over the next four years in today's budget, of which $20 million was reallocated from the Ministry of Social Development.
The Government's new financial regulator has been given $5 million in today's budget to cover its capital costs as it expands.
The Government will announce who will rollout ultrafast broadband (UFB) initiative "shortly", Finance Minister Bill English says.
The Government expects to reap between $5 billion and $7billion through partial asset sales of State-owned energy companies and reducing its shareholding in Air New Zealand.
A new earthquake kiwi bond will be launched to help pay for the $5.5 billion in direct costs the Government faces from the Canterbury earthquakes.
Business is generally saying the budget goes only some of the way to addressing the challenges the country faces.
