2019 New Zealand budget

Last updated
2019 New Zealand budget
Coat of arms of New Zealand.svg
Submitted by Grant Robertson
Parliament Parliament of New Zealand
Party Labour
SurplusIncrease2.svg $3.5 billion
Website Budget 2019
  2018
2020

Budget 2019, dubbed the Wellbeing Budget, was the name given to the New Zealand budget for fiscal year 2019/20 presented to the New Zealand House of Representatives by Finance Minister Grant Robertson on 30 May 2019. This was the second budget presented by the Coalition Government. Its release was complicated by the accidental publication of budgetary documents on a test website two days prior to its official release on 30 May, attracting significant media and public attention. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

In late May 2019, the Labour-led Coalition Government announced that the 2019 New Zealand budget would be the country's first "Wellbeing Budget", reflecting its focus on addressing mental-health issues, child well-being, supporting Māori and Pasifika aspirations, encouraging productivity, and transitioning to a sustainable economy. [4] The "Wellbeing Budget" sought to address these issues by:

The release of the "Wellbeing Budget" was complicated by the accidental publication two days earlier of budgetary documents on a test website which the Treasury had not intended to be publicly available. The opposition National Party gained access to these documents and criticized security. This leak initially raised allegations of hacking - with the usual confusion over different definitions of "hacking" ensuing [6] - and was referred to the New Zealand Police before a senior Treasury official confirmed that the leak had been accidental. Opposition Leader Simon Bridges also criticized the Government's handling of the data leak and called for the resignations of Finance Minister Robertson and Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf. [7] [8] [9]

Major announcements

The Coalition Government has allocated NZ$3.8 billion in operational funding and NZ$10.4 billion in capital funding for the Wellbeing Budget. [10]

Mental health

Child wellbeing

Māori and Pasifika aspirations

Encouraging productivity

Economic transformation

Other areas

Education

  • Allocating NZ$1.2 billion for a school property refurbishment programme, starting with NZ$287 million in 2019 for new buildings. [11] [10]

Defence

Health

Transportation and provincial growth

Reaction

The Opposition Leader Simon Bridges criticized the Wellbeing Budget, claiming that New Zealand First "held the purse strings, with funding for rail and forestry". Bridges also claimed that the economy was in decline and business confidence were at record lows. Similarly, ACT Party leader David Seymour claimed that the Wellbeing Budget failed to provide the fiscal policies needed for stronger economic growth. [12]

The Auckland Action Against Poverty Coordinator Ricardo Menéndez March and left-wing blogger Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury criticized the Budget for lacking new initiatives to addressing rising poverty and inequality. [13] [14] Left-wing political commentator Chris Trotter opined that the Wellbeing Budget violated the principle of no taxation without representation. [15]

References

  1. O'Brien, Tova (30 May 2019). "Exclusive: 'Human error' that led to Treasury Budget information access well-known – source". Newshub. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  2. Roy, Eleanor Ainge (30 May 2019). "New Zealand budget leak: 'hackers' had simply searched Treasury website". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  3. Leahy, Ben (30 May 2019). "Budget leak: Simon Bridges wants heads to roll over Treasury hack 'lies'". New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  4. "How does Budget 2019 deliver a wellbeing approach?". Budget 2019. New Zealand Treasury. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  5. "What is wellbeing?". Budget 2019. New Zealand Treasury. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  6. "Budget 2019 Treasury breach: 'Entirely appropriate behaviour' from National - Bridges". Politics. Radio New Zealand. Radio New Zealand. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019. [Simon Bridges] said there had been no hacking 'under any definition of that word'.
  7. O'Brien, Tova (30 May 2019). "Exclusive: 'Human error' that led to Treasury Budget information access well-known – source". Newshub. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  8. Roy, Eleanor Ainge (30 May 2019). "New Zealand budget leak: 'hackers' had simply searched Treasury website". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  9. Leahy, Ben (30 May 2019). "Budget leak: Simon Bridges wants heads to roll over Treasury hack 'lies'". New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Budget at a Glance" (PDF). New Zealand Treasury . Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Budget highlights". Budget 2019. New Zealand Treasury. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  12. "Budget 2019: Opposition leader Simon Bridges says 'Wellbeing Budget' a disappointment". New Zealand Herald . 30 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  13. "Wellbeing budget fails to deliver for beneficiaries and public housing – AAAP". The Daily Blog. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  14. Bradbury, Martyn (4 June 2019). "For those who say I am being too critical of the Government's 'wellbeing budget'…". The Daily Blog. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  15. Trotter, Chris (4 June 2019). "Who Is The Best Judge Of The People's "Wellbeing"?". Bowalley Road. Retrieved 6 June 2019.