Latest news with #economicresponse
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Labour leader Chris Hipkins dismisses criticism of Covid-19 overspending as 'Treasury spin'
Labour leader Chris Hipkins. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Labour leader Chris Hipkins is dismissing what he calls "Treasury spin" after its analysts said the last government overspent during the Covid-19 pandemic against official advice. Treasury's 2025 Long Term Insights Briefing , released this week, calculated the total cost of the pandemic at about $66 billion, or roughly 20.4 percent of GDP. The report said Treasury advocated for more targeted support in late 2020 into 2021 and explicitly warned "against any further stimulus" by Budget 2022. But responding to questions from RNZ on Friday, Hipkins was unapologetic about his party's economic response to Covid-19. "We prioritised keeping people alive and keeping people in jobs," he said. "I'm never going to claim that we got everything perfect... but prioritising jobs and prioritising lives was the right thing to do." Hipkins claimed other countries also spent up large with the same objectives, but Treasury said New Zealand was near the top of the chart when considering spending as a percentage of GDP. "If you listen to the Treasury spin, then you're going to get one view," Hipkins told RNZ. "If you speak to other economists, you'll get a different view. "Our job was to support New Zealanders through the global pandemic, making sure that we saved lives and kept people's jobs, and we were very successful in doing that: one of the lowest death rates in the world, one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the world, and one of the fastest rates of economic growth in the world." About half of the total Covid-19 response cost was directly tied to the pandemic, such as the wage subsidy scheme, or health initiatives like vaccination, contact tracing and quarantine. The remainder went to a wide range of initiatives like: "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". Treasury said that had "a lagged impact on the economy and proved difficult to unwind in later years". But Hipkins said Treasury had mischaracterised some of that spending, such as the provision of distance-learning for school students. "Making sure that kids could keep learning while they were at home during lockdown was an essential Covid-19 expense," Hipkins said. The report comes during a prolonged economic downturn, with both the government and opposition parties trading blame over its cause. Finance Minister Nicola Willis was quick to wield Treasury's findings as evidence that Labour had been undisciplined in its spending. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Finance Minister Nicola Willis was quick on Thursday to wield Treasury's findings as evidence that Labour had been undisciplined in its spending, driving up inflation, and fuelling a cost-of-living crisis. "Treasury's language is spare and polite, but its conclusions are damning," she said. "New Zealanders are still paying the price of the previous government extending a big-spending approach initially intended for a pandemic response. "The lesson from Labour's mishandling of the Covid response is that while there are times when governments have to increase spending in response to major events the fiscal guardrails should be restored as soon as possible." To that, Hipkins scoffed: "By comparison to this government's track record, I'll take our one any day". Hipkins said Willis should stop blaming others and instead accept the consequences of her government's spending cuts. "The wreckage that she is leaving in her wake at the moment is obvious for all New Zealanders to see. Unemployment is going up," he said. "Economic growth has collapsed. Essential services that the public rely on a daily basis are falling into disarray, and this is all on Nicola Willis watch." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Liberals, Conservatives pass major projects legislation in House of Commons
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle Conservative members of Parliament voted with the minority Liberal government to pass its marquee major projects legislation Friday evening, setting it up to become law before Canada Day. The legislation, also known as the one Canadian economy act, would allow the government to green-light a list of projects that have been deemed to be in the national interest, fast-tracking their approvals. The Liberals have called it the core of the government's domestic economic response to U.S. tariffs. 'This is what makes us different from the United States, this is what makes us more independent from the United States, this is what's going to move us forward,' Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a press conference after the vote, adding the legislation needed to pass quickly 'because we are in a crisis.' 'And if you don't think we're in a crisis, go to Sault Ste. Marie, go to Hamilton, go to Windsor.' After the second of two votes in the House of Commons on Friday, Carney crossed the floor to shake hands with Opposition House leader Andrew Scheer and Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman. Two votes were held instead of one after the House Speaker ruled that the legislation had two distinct parts without a clear common element. That allowed the Bloc Quebecois and NDP members to vote in favour of the first part of the bill -- which looks to tackle internal trade barriers -- and against the more controversial second part dealing with major projects. The major projects bill grants the government sweeping powers to quickly approve projects that are deemed to be in the national interest. Provincial and territorial premiers have given Carney lists of projects they want to see approved, but no national list of projects has been made public so far. 'We all agree that more fulsome conversations are needed to select the nation-building projects and to determine the conditions that they must fulfil. In other words, the real work begins now,' Carney said. The legislation has drawn criticism from Indigenous leaders and environmental groups who say it gives too much power to the federal cabinet to bypass existing laws. The legislation was introduced on June 6 and was pushed through the House after about eight hours of committee study on Tuesday and Wednesday. The House transport committee did amend the bill to, among other things, remove the Indian Act from a list of laws the government can sidestep when determining whether a project should move forward. First Nations leaders have warned the bill could violate their constitutionally protected rights and may lead to legal challenges. Carney emphasized the need to respect the constitutional rights of Indigenous Peoples in his press conference on Friday. 'The major projects office will have an Indigenous advisory council whose core function will be to honour Section 35 rights in the implementation of this bill,' he said. He promised to hold full-day summits with First Nations, Inuit and Metis rights-holders and leaders in the coming weeks, alongside Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty and Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty. 'Consultation, co-operation, engagement and participation are at the heart of this bill,' he said. The bill is now headed to the Senate, which is scheduled to sit until June 27. By Sarah Ritchie. With files from Kyle Duggan and Alessia Passafiume.
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
MPs to vote on controversial major projects bill before rising for the summer
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney's major projects and internal trade bill will be voted on today before the House of Commons rises until September. A closure motion the government passed to limit debate says the House won't adjourn today until debate wraps up on Bill C-5 and it clears the chamber. The Liberal government's controversial legislation, which would let cabinet quickly grant federal approvals for big industrial projects like mines, ports and pipelines, sailed through committee in the early hours of Thursday with support from the Conservatives. Indigenous and environmental groups and some opposition MPs and senators have criticized the government for rushing a bill through Parliament that gives cabinet such sweeping powers. The legislation was amended Thursday to withdraw the power it gave cabinet to sidestep the Indian Act after weeks of criticism from First Nations leaders. As Canada continues to grapple with U.S. tariffs, Carney on Thursday called C-5 called the 'core' of Canada's domestic economic response. A Senate programming motion has the upper chamber wrapping up its examination of Bill C-5 by June 27. — With files from Kyle Duggan and Alessia Passafiume This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025.
Washington Post
25-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Powell defends Federal Reserve in Princeton speech amid onslaught of attacks from Trump
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell defended the central bank's response to the COVID-19 pandemic Sunday in a Princeton University speech in which he also praised government employees and U.S. universities, both of which have been targeted by the Trump administration. Powell and the central bank have been subject to extensive criticism in recent weeks by President Donald Trump and a potential successor, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh.
