Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity

The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces.

“Christopher Luxon is choosing to prolong the recession and kneecap productivity through merciless cuts,” says the Green Party Co-Leader and Finance spokesperson, Chlöe Swarbrick.

“Today’s HYEFU shows the Government’s trickle-down decisions come at the cost of the very ‘economic growth’ they crow so much about. It doesn’t add up and it doesn’t make sense, and they clearly don’t care.

“For all the bluster, ‘the economy’ is just all of us, the things we make, and the rules we put in place to create the world we want to live in. Under a Green Government, people and planet would be put before profit, through a fairer tax system and a guaranteed minimum income.

“But right now, the Government is redistributing wealth upwards with their trickle-down tax cuts, while gutting public services and infrastructure spending, and shifting costs onto regular people.

“This is the austerity play book: defund public services to failure, watch them fail, then privatise; take the so-called ‘cost’ off the Government’s books and watch those costs rise for regular people.

“Christopher Luxon’s Government wants to play Monopoly when what we need is a responsible Government. It would pay for them to learn that the game was designed to educate children about the pitfalls of an economy premised on land speculation and luck,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.

 

Latest Finance Announcements

Story

Budget 2026 hides a nearly $500 million KiwiSaver hole across the public service

The Green Party says Budget 2026 leaves a hole of nearly half a billion dollars, the cost of the higher employer KiwiSaver contribution for most of...
Read More

Story

Chlöe Swarbrick Budget speech 2026

Mr Speaker, the Greens want every New Zealander to feel proud of our country.  Not just for our history; for granting women the vote, standing agai...
Read More

Story

Cost of living driven by fossil fuels and power price hikes

The Green Party says new Stats NZ data shows a 2.1% increase in household living costs is driven by out of control fossil fuel and power prices, an...
Read More

Story

Soaring power prices show urgent need for electrification

The Green Party says today's inflation figures show power prices are once again a key driver of the cost-of-living crisis, and reinforce calls for ...
Read More

Story

The real cost of Willis’ failed economic strategy: empty chairs at Christmas

The Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) shows Nicola Willis’ “year of growth” has not only totally failed to deliver but has come at a ste...
Read More

Story

Greens respond to Labour’s CGT announcement

“Labour’s watered down Capital Gains Tax announcement today falls far short of meeting the needs of New Zealanders,” says the Green Party Co-Leader...
Read More