By Russell Palmer of RNZ

Opposition parties are rubbishing Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s cost savings, saying $1 billion a year is nothing in the context of how much extra the Government is spending.

Robertson made his traditional pre-Budget speech to Wellington’s Chamber of Commerce this morning, announcing next week’s Budget would contain $4b in savings and reprioritisations over the next four years.

National’s finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis told reporters at Parliament this morning that needed to be put into context.

“Grant Robertson is expecting people to be grateful that he has found a billion dollars worth of savings. We have to put that number into context, this is a government that is spending a billion dollars more every week compared to when it came to office.

“What he should be doing in this Budget is finding the savings needed to ensure New Zealanders can keep more of their own money.”

She said his speech read like a resignation letter from a finance minister resigned to the fact he did not have what it took to restore discipline to government spending.

“What he’s saying is ‘I don’t have what it takes to say no to the bureaucracy, I don’t have what it takes to say no to ministers and put lines through their pet projects’. Look, invite me in, and I’ll do the job, and I know what’s required.

“First, we have to say to every minister - look me in the eye and tell me that every dollar you’re spending is being spent as well as a struggling New Zealander would spend it in their family right now. Two, show me the spending that’s not getting the impact you promised it would - we have to do better. And three, let’s make sure we’re not wasting money on consultants, advertising and communications advice.”

National Party Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis. Photo / NZME

She said National would have what it takes to say no to the things that are wasteful, but was reluctant to outline exactly how much National could cut.

“We would want to do enough to deliver the package of tax reduction that we have put forward, which would adjust income tax thresholds for inflation. We would want to do that in a way that didn’t add to inflation so that means finding the savings to fund that package.

“We’d also want to ensure there is more funding going into frontline health and education services - and that will require reprioritisation of some things that are lower priority, be that consultancy spending, be that money going into government advertising.

“This is a government spending 1.7b a year on consultancy fees alone. I am confident that if we really want to let New Zealanders keep more of what they earn we will find the savings.”

She said the Government was also telling businesses to cut their emissions but then writing those businesses large cheques to do so.

“National won’t write those cheques. We will expect businesses to cut their climate change emissions without using taxpayer dollars to do so.”

In a statement, ACT leader David Seymour said Robertson’s savings accounted for just 0.7 per cent of the total spend, and just 2 per cent of the amount Labour had increased spending by since 2018.

“In other words, Grant Robertson is standing by 99 per cent of his spending. When you consider the utter waste that has taken place over the last six years, that is an extraordinary statement.”

ACT leader David Seymour. Photo / NZME

He said New Zealand was in decline, its status as a first-world country was at risk, and a change of course was needed.

“We’ve been poorly served by two major political parties who each say the other is ruining the country but will run it the same way if it gets them into office. They sound so similar that voters struggle to tell them apart.”

He promised ACT’s own alternative Budget - set to be released on Monday - would take on “politically difficult issues that others avoid, to secure our country’s status as a first world country. It deals with the size of government and its debt, and the structure of our tax system”.

 “Kiwis need lower, flatter taxes, paid for by reducing wasteful spending. We need to scrap government departments that don’t add value. We need less red tape on hardworking New Zealanders.”

Willis, however, said it would be irresponsible for her to commit details of National’s fully costed fiscal plan before the Treasury’s pre-election fiscal updates.

“Without first knowing what the growth projections are, what the inflation projections are, what the interest rate projections are. All of that data needs to be brought to bear on our plan.”