NBR Rich List reignites wealth tax debate as Act's Karen Chhour squares off against Chlöe Swarbrick
Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick and Act Minister Karen Chhour were on Herald NOW this morning to discuss taxing the rich.
Swarbrick said it was a
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NZ Herald
10 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Almighty debt fight in Parliament, as Nicola Willis accuses Chris Hipkins and Chlöe Swarbrick of fiscal vandalism
'That is Fitch telling us that borrowing a lot more, as Opposition parties are proposing, would lead to a credit downgrade. 'That would increase the cost of government debt and also have a flow-on effect to the cost of household and business borrowing, as New Zealand would be seen as a more risky country to lend to,' Willis said. Labour has not released a fiscal plan, which would detail how much taxing, spending, and borrowing the party plans if it wins the next election. Hipkins has previously spoken about the need to borrow to invest in infrastructure. On Tuesday, he said, when asked by the Herald, that his party's fiscal plan would chart a path back to surplus. The Green Party has released a fiscal plan that includes $99.1 billion in additional revenue made up of about $89b in new taxation and the rest in climate taxes. The plan also includes additional borrowing for capital investment and a higher deficit in the last year of the forecast period. Finance Minister Nicola Willis during her standup at the Prime Minister's usual spot, hit out at Labour and the Greens. Photo / Mark Mitchell Under their plan, net debt would be about $44b higher at the end of the forecast period, a sum equivalent to just under 10% of GDP. Fitch's commentary, calling for a return to surplus and a reduction in debt levels to keep the current credit rating, is inconsistent with the Greens' plan, which ends up with more debt and a larger deficit. However, Swarbrick said Fitch's broader social and growth analysis might be more aligned with the Greens'. In general, Fitch noted that both National and Labour Governments had brought the books back into balance after an economic shock. The agency, warned, however, that recent experience had seen surpluses delayed and this could be a problem. 'Evidence of a weakening in the culture of fiscal responsibility would affect creditworthiness,' the commentary said. Willis said Hipkins had laid his 'stake in the ground' and that Labour was 'prepared to walk away' from a 'culture of fiscal responsibility'. 'Every New Zealander will pay the price if a Labour-Greens Government puts our fiscal reputation at risk,' Willis said. 'Team of vandals' - Willis Willis said Hipkins had departed from the 'orthodoxy' of previous Labour finance ministers like Michael Cullen. 'This is an altogether different path in which he seems to be walking a lot closer to Chlöe Swarbrick and her team of vandals, who want to gaslight New Zealanders into believing that if we just spent more and borrow more, everything would be better,' Willis said. 'Michael Cullen would never allow for the fiscally reckless approach that Chris Hipkins has been signalling,' Willis said. Hipkins, heading into his own caucus meeting, said Willis's attack had more to do with the Government wanting to divert attention from a sluggish economy. He said it was 'important that the Government balances its budget'. 'I notice that Nicola Willis has yet to do that. She'll be on to her third budget next year and there's not a surplus in sight,' Hipkins said. Hipkins promised that Labour would set its own fiscal rules in its pre-election fiscal plan, but he confirmed that these would include a return to surplus. 'We do need to get the books back into surplus. No government should be aiming to indefinitely run deficits,' Hipkins said. When asked whether one of the rules would be returning to surplus at some time, he said: 'Get the books back into surplus – yes.' Fiscal plans, which function like a draft budget for a political party, are not typically released until much closer to an election. Labour says its tax policy is coming later this year. Labour's last Budget included a primary fiscal rule 'returning the operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) to a surplus and aiming for small surpluses thereafter'. 'This is vintage National Party, when they're in a hole, and they're in a very big hole at the moment, start throwing mud at the Labour Party, but the reality is their hole is getting deeper, they need to work out how to get themselves out of a hole without worrying about other political parties.' New Zealand's AA+ rating with Fitch dates back to 2022. Photo / Mark Mitchell Swarbrick hit back at Willis saying that 'when these made-up economic metrics, the likes of GDP, are superseding our focus on the wellbeing of people and planet, we've kind of lost the plot'. Swarbrick said that ratings agencies actually took a 'more sophisticated approach' in assessing the Government's finances than the Treasury. Swarbrick said, 'Luxon and Willis' decisions have seen productivity growth flatline, skilled workers deserting the country and deteriorating infrastructure placed under ever more pressure. 'Ironically, financial markets have a clearer grasp of fiscal responsibility than the Minister of Finance. They reward countries that successfully build economic resilience and punish those weakened by the chronic underinvestment favoured by Willis,' she said. Pointing to Fitch's concerns about the housing market and unemployment, Swarbrick said, 'The Government's decisions to withdraw public investment, in turn generating higher household debt and simultaneously increasing unemployment, is very bad for financial stability and debt-servicing.' New Zealand is one of just 12 countries to have a AA+ or AAA rating from Fitch. The current rating was obtained in 2022, under the last Labour Government and Finance Minister Grant Robertson. New Zealand had been downgraded to AA after the financial crisis and the Christchurch Earthquake In its commentary on that decision, and subsequent reviews, Fitch has stressed that forecasts show a 'fiscal consolidation', in which the Government runs a surplus and debt declines as a percentage of the GDP. National misses election surplus promise, Labour won't say it would have cut spending had it won election At the 2023 election, both National and Labour ran on fiscal plans that showed a surplus in 2027. National promised to reduce the amount of new spending each year by a cumulative $3.3b, meaning its 2027 surplus and subsequent surpluses were slightly larger than Labour's. Beginning in 2022, the Treasury began slashing its economic growth and tax revenue forecasts. This continued in the months after the election, when new forecasts showed the surplus shrinking, and has persisted to 2025. The result of this has been lower revenue than expected, pushing the forecast surplus out into the future. This has meant that despite Willis reducing spending growth, on balance, by far more than her fiscal plan promised in 2023, the deficit and overall borrowing levels are far higher. The Treasury reckons this year's deficit will be $15.6 billion, more than 10 times larger than the $1b deficit National promised on the campaign trial. Labour promised an even larger deficit of $1.5b. Given changes to GDP and revenue projections, that deficit would have increased too. On current forecasts, a surplus, by the traditional measure, is not forecast until the early 2030s. National and Labour are scrapping over how to fix the mess. Willis, noting the Government's large deficit, refuses to spend even more on stimulus, which some hope would speed an economic recovery, ultimately restoring the books in the process. Hipkins, on the other hand, refused to say he would have cut spending to keep to his fiscal promises, had he won the election. Willis rebuffed calls for more spending to stimulate the economy, saying that this spending would be 'the end of interest rate reductions'. 'Treasury has affirmed the best way to stimulate an economy in a downturn is through monetary policy ... I am concerned that without dropping interest rates we won't see the revival we all wish to see in the construction sector, our business sector, all of the private industries that rely on being able to borrow to generate the growth that New Zealanders want to see,' Willis said. Meanwhile Hipkins, would not say whether he would have dropped his spending and borrowing commitments had he won the election. Labour's 2023 plan included just over $3b more borrowing than National's. Hipkins did not definitively say he would have made cuts in light of the deteriorating finances. 'What I indicated before the election would have been our priorities, which was looking at how you get more effective spending. 'Take health, more money on preventative healthcare, like free prescriptions and making doctors' visits more accessible has the potential to save money, because you end up with fewer people in emergency departments,' he said. Asked whether Labour would have cut its cloth had it won in 2023, Hipkins said, 'We need to accept Nicola Willis has made this worse. Increasing unemployment is at least in part because of the decisions that this Government has taken. 'If I look at areas where I wouldn't have wanted to spend extra money, I wouldn't have wanted to spend extra money on Jobseeker benefits. I would have rather kept Kiwis in work.'
NZ Herald
15 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Nicola Willis on why she took the Prime Minister's usual media spot
Wildlife photographer Andy MacDonald on South Wairarapa District Council's plan to limit access to a popular North Island spot. 2Degrees Business- Garth Bray from BusinessDesk joins Ryan Bridge on Herald NOW. Video / Herald NOW Lawyer Minda Thorward on Sarah Shaw's release from a Texas detention centre after being held with her young son. Video / Herald NOW Labour Leader Chris Hipkins joins Ryan Bridge on Herald NOW. A Lower Hutt family relocates to access Trikafta for their 4-year-old daughter, aiming to prevent further irreversible damage from CF. Video / Herald NOW Herald NOW Weather: August 19, 2025. Leonie Freeman Property Council NZ Chief Executive, joins Ryan Bridge on Herald NOW. Video / Herald NOW NZ Herald Sports Update: August 19, 2025. Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with Donald Trump & Judith Collins apologises for 'mixing the message'. Nicholas Khoo, Associate Professor Politics, University of Otago joins Ryan Bridge on Herald NOW. Video / Herald NOW US President Donald Trump is meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the hopes of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Liam Napier details the latest on the All Blacks from Buenos Aires. Video / NZ Herald Reporter Daisy is at Saving Hope Foundation, where Janine and her band of professional puppy cuddling kid volunteers rescue dogs who have been dumped all across the city. NZ Herald business editor-at-large Liam Dann joins us to delve into our Nation of Debt. Life in one of our most peaceful and isolated villages – Nightcaps, the tiny town on the edge of the world.
NZ Herald
20 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Kiwi woman Sarah Shaw's lawyer says mum back in US home, taking time for herself
'She's recovering at home and taking some time for herself,' she said. This morning she told Herald NOW that recuperating from the ordeal was the top priority before she addressed the detention publicly. 'She's just trying to pick up the pieces right now.' Thorward volunteered for pro-bono work at Dilley Immigration Processing Centre about nine and a half years ago. She described the conditions Shaw and her son would have endured during their detainment. '[They] are overcrowded, there is limited access to medical care, limited access to counsel and the food is horrendous,' she said. 'You are basically locked in a room for a lot of the day. There is nowhere for kids to go outside. There is nothing to do, so they are just really bored.' Sarah Shaw's lawyer Minda Thorward says the conditions in detention centres are "worse than jail". Thorward described detention centres as 'worse than jail'. 'The services are worse, there is less oversight and due processes and protection don't necessarily apply to detention centres,' she said. 'It's difficult to talk to anyone. You can call, but it's always very garbled to so it's very difficult to communicate with anyone in detention. 'It's South Texas so it would have been really hot. It was a really terrible experience for her.' The Dilley Immigration Processing Centre first opened in December 2014 and can hold up to 2400 people. It made headlines this year over alleged inhumane conditions. The Los Angeles Times reported there was concern over water quantity and quality, with some adults reportedly fighting children for clean water at the facility. Shaw and her son were at the facility for more than three weeks. She was returning from putting her two other children on a flight to New Zealand from Vancouver when they were detained. A GoFundMe page set up by family friend Victoria Besancon said: 'Thanks to all of your support and advocating, Sarah and her son have been released! 'While her lawyer's words were 'the war is not over' and there are still legal battles to be had, this portion has been won! 'Thank you to everyone who supported, donated and reached out. We will continue to update the story as it unfolds. But they are home safe and sound. 'Please be praying for the next legal steps, and for a peaceful reintroduction to daily life for the Shaw family.' The GoFundMe has so far raised more than US$60,000 ($101,000). David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.
