Dawn chorus: The brilliant and perverse absurdity of Labour's austerity Budget of 2021

The Govt freezes most state sector wages, cuts $926m of Covid spending plans and strangles transport projects to start reducing debt; Tight Budget stance keeps interest rates low and house prices high

TLDR: Labour is pivoting to Budget austerity and public debt reduction too soon after a crisis, making the same mistakes National did from 2011 to 2015, when it prioritised low interest rates and high house prices in the short term over a long-term improvement in wellbeing. It’s great for homeowners, awful for renters and means the Government can’t achi…