“A new poll revealing 64 percent of New Zealanders think government debt is too high should bolster the Coalition’s confidence to rein in the public sector,” says ACT Finance spokesperson Todd Stephenson.

“New Zealanders facing financial stress during the COVID crisis acted responsibly, deferring major purchases and managing debts. But Grant Robertson took the crisis as an excuse to splurge. Every pet spending project imaginable was justified under the COVID response banner.

“Now it’s the Coalition Government’s job to clean up the mess. In a pre-Budget report released today, ANZ economists flagged that there’s scope for deeper spending cuts in the coming years to wind back public service growth seen during the pandemic.

“With ACT in government, we’re pushing every day to secure responsible savings and get the books back in order. That’s how we can secure substantial, sustainable tax relief in the longer term, empowering Kiwi households to flourish off the back of their own efforts.

“So far, the Government has not gone as far as ACT would like in reducing the size and functions of the public service. But it is going further than it would without ACT.”

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