Gordon Campbell: On Budget 2025

Underwhelming, as promised. All week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis had actively reduced public expectations by saying that her second Budget would not be filled “with rainbows and unicorns” although – somewhere over the rainbow – it would somehow deliver the twin unicorns of “hope for the future” and “genuine growth.” Not a chance. Judging by the random array of sideways shufflings and deckchair re-arrangements that comprise Budget 2025, Willis has no coherent plan for sustainably growing the New Zealand economy.