So much for the relentless focus on growth
So much for the relentless focus on growth
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3:32 pm, September 19th, 2025 - 26 comments
Categories: economy, national, national/act government, nicola willis, same old national -
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Remember back to the beginning of the year when Christopher Luxon said that 2025 would bring a relentless focus on unleashing growth?
He said this at the time:
“Business and consumer confidence is rising and average mortgage interest rates have now fallen for the first time in more than three years. Wages are rising faster than inflation, supporting a recovery in household incomes. Growth is also expected to resume, reaching 2.1 per cent in 2025 according to Treasury’s latest forecasts in the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update.
“We need to act now to strengthen growth and productivity – both in the very near term and over the years to come.
Fast forward to yesterday and the news was all bad. GDP growth dropped by 0.9% for the latest quarter and is so far -1.1% for the year.
Nicola Willis attempted this morning to say that things were either fine or the fault of America. Relying on the opinions of unidentified investors she said that investment appetite was strong. She cited getting rid of red tape and education reform as things that are helping.
She complained about the tariff announcement and noted it happened on the second day of the latest quarter. She refused to mention previous tariff announcements by the Trump administration or that everyone knew that a tarrif was inevitable.
The drum beats are loud.
Roger Douglas and Matthew Hooton have criticised Willis with Hooton noting that the economy is smaller than when National took office.
Who would have thought that deep cuts to the public service, the savaging of the Kainga Ora build program and the wholesale cancellation of projects would have caused such an adverse economic effect?
National need to wear this. And Willis’s tenure as Finance Minister is tenuous. Further GDP shrinkage may end her career.
Which may well be true – but who would take over?
Simeon Brown? Todd McClay? Maureen Pugh?
In the interests of this country we MUST make this a one-term government – but we must replace them with a government dedicated to winding back the 40 years of disastrous neoliberalism!
What a hospital pass that'd be, old I've run business ' clutson should have a go!!
Judith would not have to be asked twice.
Bring back Roger.
But we're getting impressive growth with:
* unemployment
* NZers leaving the country to find work offshore (nurses especially)
* liquidation applications in the courts
* outstanding tax due to Inland Revenue, and
* cynicism among voters about politicians.
"Relentless focus on growth".
Without actually doing anything to foster growth?
When there is relentless growth in body cells, it's called cancer.
Yes.
However, the Coalition of Cockups has failed, in the terms they set for themselves.
An economic system which cannot survive without infinite growth, in a finite planet, is an obvious oxymoron.
But, it appears that we will not! be allowed an alternative.
Let’s spread the love and give credit where credit’s due and include ACT and its leader David Seymour who’s an Associate Finance Minister (as is Shambles Jones, the newly anointed NZ First Deputy Leader) who is hellbent on fiscally neutering the Public Sector.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/09/12/how-seymour-fell-short-in-budget-cost-cutting-drive/
I assume you mean her ‘career’ as politician; being Finance Minister is a short-lived gig, at best. When Willis withers away, so will Luxon, and vice versa – that’ll be a bonus special getting two for the price of one to say it in supermarket parlance and high inflation has devalued the Leader and Deputy Leader of National as consumables that have limited expiration date.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/573531/nicola-willis-rejects-accusations-she-is-doing-nothing-for-a-tanking-economy
For those of us on salaries, a thing we can do is commit to only doing our shopping in markets and poor areas of cities. Small traders are desperate for good reliable customers who can push a day's takings.
Only to have those takings stolen because Mercenary Mitchell can't get enough police to make the country safe
I know the 'relentless focus on growth' is nothing more than a mantra, a sound bite, a seasoning sprinkled through their talking points.
By their actions, which is how anything is judged, the only relentlessness about the coalition is attacks on all things Maori and the have- nots.
And workers’ rights. CoC is govt by the sorted, for the sorted – wealth is their insulation.
Common sense and a road cone hotline – the sorted really do not care – onya Brooke!
More and more workers are included in the have nots.
Working poor, precariat, two jobs and still can't get by, Working for Families, Accommodation Supplement….
Too true – but the CoC has a plan to increase the average wealth of NZers
Bernard Hickey on The Kaka this week has underscored that this is staying far, far worse than the economic effects after the Asian Financial Crisis or the GFC or even Ruth Richardson's Mother of all Budgets because people are far more indebted than they were in any of those events and the banks are far more constrained in what they can lend.
And this depth of recession means the government tax take is going to collapse, so there's no righting it in the 2026 Budget either.
It’s stagflation!
The second balance sheet recession is self-inflicted by the Government, which believes wrongly that it has too much debt and faces the punishment of higher interest rates by financial markets if it doesn’t ‘bend the curve’ of public debt down. That is just plain wrong. After including the very real assets and earnings of the NZ Super Fund and ACC into the calculations, as other Governments do, New Zealand’s true debt position is miniscule compared to others and the interest burden is tiny, both in actual terms and relative to that of households and businesses.
As Bernard Hickey spells out, when you cut, cut, cut that does the opposite of stimulate an economy! Duh.
And in addition to that when you’re super clever trousers and replace taxpayers funding with user payers or council funding, then rates and other fees increase fueling inflation.
We’ve got to be close to stagflation with this lot and Richardson and Douglas giving advice.
Very, very interesting how the 2 wrecking ball hasbeens Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson have both popped up as the great fountains of all knowledge.
This is desperate stuff from them, as the experts, the polls, and even just basic common sense says the country's direction is wrong, wrong wrong.
You can almost hear the subtext from them- don't Nicola!! Don't change tack! Double down Nicola!! Don't let the lefties have any word to say! There is no alternative! Keep to the Atlas plan Nicola!!
Fast forward two years, and what a difference being the Finance Minister makes. GDP is down 0.9%, the cost of living crisis has deepened, unemployment is rising, and Kiwis are leaving NZ in droves. The CoC is speed-wrecking NZ.
But, according to Finance Minister Nicky No-Boats, everything's on track. And she's right – the sorted have never had it so good. That's our CoC – govt by the sorted, for the sorted.
The graph from Simplicity that leads Bernard Hickey's podcast shows the historic scale of the recession we are in:
Whilst the state cannot spend more than it gets in tax in perpetuity and value for money should be expected – cutting a number of wasteful ACT party policies for example – a part of this 'crisis' is the under taxation within our economy. Several areas the state could concentrate its attention to get the extra revenue it needs, CGT a no brainer, a time limited windfall tax on banks or supermarkets. Maybe a combination of both. A windfall tax for 2-3 years phasing out whilst a CGT kicks in. Mind, the way Willis is going the big profit windfalls may be behind us as no growth nicola tanks the economy
I would like to see all the water entities have the ability to tax water beyond the minimum price of sustaining the asset. That would be an effective tax on the dairy industry as a whole. It means water meters for every single connection point – rural and town and city.
Well….it seems its maybe not quite NACT1's fault ? It wuz Labour, Global, Low Productivity, Other…? (IMO RNZ the Curates Egg as ever)
One of the Economic Experts is ( I include a link to Wesselbaum below..)
NZ Initiative. IMO…Know your enemy.
Not the bloody NZ 'Initiative' again – Wesselbaum is one academic and, like lawyers, I could provide you others who would give a counter view.
NZ's GDP track is not following that of other countries – it's following a NAct1 track.
NAct1 – CoC govt by the sorted, for the sorted – they are creating so many opportunities.
Prof Susan St John absolutely ! Throw in a Craig Renney et al, as an earlier RNZ….
And..now here we are. Willis/NACT1 didnt heed good advice and the rock star needs rehab… stat. 2026 !