Latest news with #GilesDexter
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Peters considering recognising Palestinian statehood
The government has announced it is 'considering' recognising Palestinian statehood, and will deliberate over the next month before taking its decision to the United Nations General Assembly. Australia has gone a step further, at almost exactly the same time Winston Peters set out New Zealand's intentions, Anthony Albanese held a press conference, confirming Australia will recognise Palestine at UNGA. Political reporter Giles Dexter spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Treasury: Previous govt spent too much during Covid despite warnings
By Giles Dexter of RNZ The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury. The Treasury's 2025 Long Term Insights Briefing said debt had risen in recent decades, partly because responses to adverse shocks were not met by savings between those shocks. The higher debt meant less capacity to respond to future shocks, like natural hazards, weather-related risks and biosecurity risks. Treasury estimated the total cost of the pandemic was $66 billion over the 2020-26 financial years and about 20.4% of GDP. The IMF and OECD estimated it was among the largest Covid-19 responses globally. The agency releases a briefing every three years, with this one looking at the role of fiscal policy through shocks and business cycles. The briefing said the Covid-19 response showed the challenges of using fiscal policy to respond to shocks and cycles. Initially, Treasury recommended "strong fiscal stimulus" at the start of the pandemic, which was cited as "perhaps" causing the economy to be much stronger than expected by the end of 2020. The wage-subsidy scheme in particular was seen as making an important contribution to the strong initial recovery, limiting the increase in the unemployment rate and enabling economic activity to resume when restrictions relaxed. Treasury then moved away from recommending broad-based stimulus, preferring more targeted and moderate support. Its post-election advice to the then-Finance Minister in late 2020 highlighted "the importance of controlling ongoing spending and ensuring it was high value to meet the medium-term fiscal challenge." By August 2021, with the Delta lockdowns coming in, Treasury recommended any decisions to provide support to businesses "should take account of macroeconomic trade-offs". It recommended against any further stimulus from Budget 2022 onwards. Wage subsidies and similar schemes during lockdowns made up about 35% of the costs of the response. A further 18% came from health-system costs, like vaccination, contact tracing, and managed isolation and quarantine. The remaining "nearly half" was made up of a wide range of initiatives that Treasury said had "varied objectives". Some were aimed at directly responding to the impacts of Covid-19, others were aimed at providing fiscal stimulus or "achieving social or environmental objectives". They included "tax changes, training schemes, housing construction, shovel-ready infrastructure projects, increases to welfare benefits, the Small Business Cashflow Scheme, Jobs for Nature, additional public housing places and school lunches". Programmes within the fiscal response that were not tied to the shock were seen as having "a lagged impact on the economy and proved difficult to unwind in later years". The report suggested cyclical management was best left to monetary policy, run by an independent central bank. It also suggested governments set out clearly when fiscal policy will be used ahead of time, including pre-defining responses. Ideally, this would have cross-party agreement. An independent fiscal institution, which could scrutinise and report on the sustainability of fiscal policy, was also suggested. The previous government had considered setting up a watchdog to cost election policies, but it could not get cross-party support. National then changed its tune, with current Finance Minister Nicola Willis supporting such a measure, but New Zealand First and ACT were opposed to the idea. 'Dangers of excessive spending' - Willis Willis jumped on the report's release, saying Treasury's language was "spare and polite", but its conclusions were "damning". She said the briefing showed the challenges of using "big spending measures" to respond to one-off shocks. Willis singled out the briefing's focus on the money spent on initiatives not directly tied to the Covid-19 response. "That is a very diplomatic way of saying New Zealanders are still paying the price of the previous government extending a big-spending approach, initially intended for a pandemic response," she said. Labour has been approached for comment.
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Previous govt spent too much during Covid: Treasury
By Giles Dexter of RNZ The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury. The Treasury's 2025 Long Term Insights Briefing said debt had risen in recent decades, partly because responses to adverse shocks were not met by savings between those shocks. The higher debt meant less capacity to respond to future shocks, like natural hazards, weather-related risks and biosecurity risks. Treasury estimated the total cost of the pandemic was $66 billion over the 2020-26 financial years and about 20.4% of GDP. The IMF and OECD estimated it was among the largest Covid-19 responses globally. The agency releases a briefing every three years, with this one looking at the role of fiscal policy through shocks and business cycles. The briefing said the Covid-19 response showed the challenges of using fiscal policy to respond to shocks and cycles. Initially, Treasury recommended "strong fiscal stimulus" at the start of the pandemic, which was cited as "perhaps" causing the economy to be much stronger than expected by the end of 2020. The wage-subsidy scheme in particular was seen as making an important contribution to the strong initial recovery, limiting the increase in the unemployment rate and enabling economic activity to resume when restrictions relaxed. Treasury then moved away from recommending broad-based stimulus, preferring more targeted and moderate support. Its post-election advice to the then-Finance Minister in late 2020 highlighted "the importance of controlling ongoing spending and ensuring it was high value to meet the medium-term fiscal challenge." By August 2021, with the Delta lockdowns coming in, Treasury recommended any decisions to provide support to businesses "should take account of macroeconomic trade-offs". It recommended against any further stimulus from Budget 2022 onwards. Wage subsidies and similar schemes during lockdowns made up about 35% of the costs of the response. A further 18% came from health-system costs, like vaccination, contact tracing, and managed isolation and quarantine. The remaining "nearly half" was made up of a wide range of initiatives that Treasury said had "varied objectives". Some were aimed at directly responding to the impacts of Covid-19, others were aimed at providing fiscal stimulus or "achieving social or environmental objectives". They included "tax changes, training schemes, housing construction, shovel-ready infrastructure projects, increases to welfare benefits, the Small Business Cashflow Scheme, Jobs for Nature, additional public housing places and school lunches". Programmes within the fiscal response that were not tied to the shock were seen as having "a lagged impact on the economy and proved difficult to unwind in later years". The report suggested cyclical management was best left to monetary policy, run by an independent central bank. It also suggested governments set out clearly when fiscal policy will be used ahead of time, including pre-defining responses. Ideally, this would have cross-party agreement. An independent fiscal institution, which could scrutinise and report on the sustainability of fiscal policy, was also suggested. The previous government had considered setting up a watchdog to cost election policies, but it could not get cross-party support. National then changed its tune, with current Finance Minister Nicola Willis supporting such a measure, but New Zealand First and ACT were opposed to the idea. 'Dangers of excessive spending' - Willis Willis jumped on the report's release, saying Treasury's language was "spare and polite", but its conclusions were "damning". She said the briefing showed the challenges of using "big spending measures" to respond to one-off shocks. Willis singled out the briefing's focus on the money spent on initiatives not directly tied to the Covid-19 response. "That is a very diplomatic way of saying New Zealanders are still paying the price of the previous government extending a big-spending approach, initially intended for a pandemic response," she said. Labour has been approached for comment.
Otago Daily Times
02-08-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
PM wants NZ to get behind development, progress
By Giles Dexter of RNZ National leader Christopher Luxon has told the party's annual conference that the country needs to "say yes" more. Addressing about 550 delegates, MPs and supporters at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Christchurch, Luxon bemoaned "activists" who opposed housing developments, agriculture, cruise ships and mines. "If we're serious about keeping Kiwis at home, creating jobs and increasing wages for all New Zealanders, we can't afford to keep saying no to every opportunity that comes our way." Opposition parties have heavily criticised the government for its economic policies and laid the blame at its feet for the 30,000 New Zealanders who moved to Australia last year, but Luxon said the opposition would make it worse. "Take a look at Australia," he said. "If they shut down their mining industry or their energy industry tomorrow, as Labour and the Greens want to do here, I guarantee you would see fewer Kiwis moving across the ditch." Luxon's speech came hot on the heels of an announcement from the United States that it would increase tariffs to 15 percent. Still digesting the announcement and what it would mean for New Zealand exporters, Luxon acknowledged "challenging" global conditions. "We can't just batten down the hatches and hope for the best," he said. Luxon's speech made no mention of National's coalition partners, New Zealand First or ACT, or even the word 'coalition' itself, although deputy Nicola Willis acknowledged the "energy" it took to keep Winston Peters and David Seymour under control. Instead, Luxon's speech was heavy on shoutouts to his National ministers and their policies, and also on blaming the previous government for the cost-of-living struggles New Zealanders currently faced. "In the years to come, immediate action on the cost of living isn't enough," he said. "The last government spent billions of dollars in failed handouts, only to watch inflation roar and the economy falter. "We have to keep our eyes on the prize." Echoing his speech at Monday's post-cabinet press conference, Luxon leaned on the economic policies the government had introduced, such as tax changes, FamilyBoost and the removal of the Auckland Fuel Tax. "We're doing what we can," he said. The speech contained an announcement the government would make it easier to get a concession on Department of Conservation land. "That means more certainty for businesses, less bureaucracy and much faster decisions, so the businesses that should be operating can get up and running." There would still be restrictions on some parts of the DOC estate. "Where it does make sense, we need to get to the 'yes' much faster - instead of being bogged down in process and uncertainty," Luxon said. Charges of $20-40 for foreign visitors to high-volume sites like Cathedral Cove, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound, and Aoraki Mount Cook were being introduced, but New Zealanders would be exempt from the fees. Party president Sylvia Wood, who was re-elected at the conference, said the party would select candidates for the 2026 election shortly.
Otago Daily Times
02-08-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
PM wants NZ to stem tide of Kiwis leaving for Oz
By Giles Dexter of RNZ National leader Christopher Luxon has told the party's annual conference that the country needs to "say yes" more. Addressing about 550 delegates, MPs and supporters at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Christchurch, Luxon bemoaned "activists" who opposed housing developments, agriculture, cruise ships and mines. "If we're serious about keeping Kiwis at home, creating jobs and increasing wages for all New Zealanders, we can't afford to keep saying no to every opportunity that comes our way." Opposition parties have heavily criticised the government for its economic policies and laid the blame at its feet for the 30,000 New Zealanders who moved to Australia last year, but Luxon said the opposition would make it worse. "Take a look at Australia," he said. "If they shut down their mining industry or their energy industry tomorrow, as Labour and the Greens want to do here, I guarantee you would see fewer Kiwis moving across the ditch." Luxon's speech came hot on the heels of an announcement from the United States that it would increase tariffs to 15 percent. Still digesting the announcement and what it would mean for New Zealand exporters, Luxon acknowledged "challenging" global conditions. "We can't just batten down the hatches and hope for the best," he said. Luxon's speech made no mention of National's coalition partners, New Zealand First or ACT, or even the word 'coalition' itself, although deputy Nicola Willis acknowledged the "energy" it took to keep Winston Peters and David Seymour under control. Instead, Luxon's speech was heavy on shoutouts to his National ministers and their policies, and also on blaming the previous government for the cost-of-living struggles New Zealanders currently faced. "In the years to come, immediate action on the cost of living isn't enough," he said. "The last government spent billions of dollars in failed handouts, only to watch inflation roar and the economy falter. "We have to keep our eyes on the prize." Echoing his speech at Monday's post-cabinet press conference, Luxon leaned on the economic policies the government had introduced, such as tax changes, FamilyBoost and the removal of the Auckland Fuel Tax. "We're doing what we can," he said. The speech contained an announcement the government would make it easier to get a concession on Department of Conservation land. "That means more certainty for businesses, less bureaucracy and much faster decisions, so the businesses that should be operating can get up and running." There would still be restrictions on some parts of the DOC estate. "Where it does make sense, we need to get to the 'yes' much faster - instead of being bogged down in process and uncertainty," Luxon said. Charges of $20-40 for foreign visitors to high-volume sites like Cathedral Cove, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound, and Aoraki Mount Cook were being introduced, but New Zealanders would be exempt from the fees. Party president Sylvia Wood, who was re-elected at the conference, said the party would select candidates for the 2026 election shortly.
