Here’s the key news in Aotearoa’s political economy over the last day or so around housing, climate and poverty, along with analysis and detail in the video and podcast above, and the PDF of the presentation attached below:
The Treasury’s 30/30 rule1 of aiming to constantly reduce the size of Government and debt to below 30% of GDP is adhered to by both National and Labour. It is the Government’s ‘North Star.’ It will dominate in this Thursday’s Budget 2026 through spending cuts and restraint designed to put a sinking lid on the size of Government to meet an arbitrary target.
Meanwhile, food banks are again desperate for funding certainty from the Government on the eve of the Budget.
Also this week, financial markets see a 20% chance the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will hike on Wednesday, although bank economists see the OCR held.
Secret lobbying of the Prime Minister’s office by Fonterra and Z Energy over climate litigation has been revealed in reports this morning by RNZ and The Post-$2.
Heart specialists are pointing to ‘superficially’ lower waiting lists driven by restrictions on referrals to specialists, Stuff reports3this morning.
A poll by Talbot Mills for Better Taxes for a Better Future finds majority support for bank profit levy, including among National and ACT voters4.
Paying subscribers get the full Picks n’ Mixes below and access to Substack Live sessions, along with the PDF of the presentation used in the Substack Live attached below.
