The Finance Minister should be using unexpected
revenue windfalls to pay down
government debt, says the New Zealand
Taxpayers’
Union.
Union
spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “If someone heavily in
debt wins the lotto, any decent financial advisor would tell
them to use the money to pay down debt. But Grant Robertson
seems intent on frittering away his
winnings.”
“The Government’s debt projection may
be slightly better than it was, but it’s still very bad.
In a few short years Government debt is set to reach around
$100,000 for every New Zealand household. The Finance
Minister’s priority should be reining in this debt monster
as quickly as possible for the sake of
taxpayers.”
“If Grant Robertson is intent on
announcing new spending in this year’s budget, he should
fund that spending through cutbacks in other areas. Last
week’s revelation of a taxpayer-funded
turtle funeral is a sign that there’s plenty of
wasteful government spending to be found, if the Finance
Minister cares to
look.”
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