Budget: Nicola Willis on tax cuts and cancer drugs | Q+A 2024 

If you play a drinking game, and drink every time she blames the previous government, you can be blind by the end of the 31 minutes.

A sensible budget?! Nicola you borrowed $12 Billion to pay for $14.7 Billion in tax cuts and cut every beneficial programme you could while bumping up fees for everything else.

The absolute lack of understanding about why people are on the benefit is so entitled. They made so many people redundant, increased the unemployment stats in 6 months, made it harder for workers to feel secure in a job and to find work, but oh yes, to get more money - get off your a** and find a job. That is so uncaring and entitled because a lot of these workers who have lost their jobs over the last 6 months DID have jobs, had jobs they thought were secure and now? They need to find another because the government put them out and that's the attitude they have

Only conclusion is she is a giant size Ruth Richardson, but with more spin

cutting first home grants and gifting 3b to landlords is a slap in the face to all young kiwis. No wonder so many are leaving for aus

Excellent interview Jack.

Translated for those who don't speak politicalese ...Our wealthy backers and supporters are more important than the lives of New Zealanders.

Great interview! Well done, Jack.

$20 a week if you're lucky and a host of services just gone to pay for it

Nicola - going on about what your government has inherited from the previous government is wearing thin. Hard working, struggling middle NZers has paid for landlord tax cuts yet you are going to borrow to fund tax adjustments which is not what your party campaigned on. The budget was based on a lot of hype with little substances like your party's campaign. There are only 5 regions that have population over 300,000 that are consider to have reasonable economic growth with the remaining 11 regions that have regional populations under 300,000 which mainly have low wage, farming, food productions, forestry economies, which also have a high number of people of benefits, with little chance of the 'good pay' jobs unless you call digging up these regions to good paying jobs. The voters want plans not 3 yearly, cheap, quick fix hype.

Statistics NZ on average the economy grew in the last 35 years under National by 2.6% under Labour 3.1%

So, the government is going to 'get people off benefit and into work' while unemployment is rising. The ONLY way to do that is for people presently employed to lose their jobs and be replaced by people on Job Seeker Benefit.

We have not seen the effects of the $9 billion in savings will cost on public services. Keeping only the front line in a rugby team means the quality of the game will suffer.

Absolute car crash, picks and chooses when to apply logic and never accepts responsibility. Shameful that she is our finance minister clearly incompetent.

2.9 billion for landlords passed under urgency in parliament earlier this year. 13 cancer drugs that were promised are not in the budget. Budgets show the priorities of the government of the day. No excuses to not fund the 13 cancer drugs. Unforgivable National unforgivable

In re-prioritizing waste, she is meaning, getting rid of thousands of people who had jobs.

Great work Mr Jack Tame!!

This is such an insane budget... cutting back school lunches, public transport, environmental, cancer drugs, first home buyer grants ... to pay for what? Tax cuts that barely pay for anything for those that need it. AND they had to borrow to make that happen? How can anyone say that it's good? What about it is good?

They say they want to help beneficiaries into work. But right now the reserve Bank is keeping interest rates high because inflation is too high. One of the problems they have admitted to is that unemployment is too low. Ideally they want at least 5% unemployment to keep inflation down. But then they want to slam those people who lose their jobs. Has any journalist asked how much this govt will be spending on redundancy packages for all those civil servants they have fired? And how many of those workers are now being paid four times what they were as civil servants but are still doing the same jobs as contractors.

Get the books back-in-balance by taxing the wealthy who are paying less than 9% overall tax - not by hitting the poor and vulnerable. Don't forget Chris Luxon, for example, will trouser an $18,000 tax cut.

The last government squeezed the financial lemon, now Nicola is squeezing the same lemon expecting more savings - this is the current reality. Services are being cut and timelines extended to match government expectations.

These people in National assume we think like them. Ie, I only care about me and couldn't give a toss about the rest of the country. I don't want a useless ten bucks a week bloody tax cut! I want capital gins tax so people spend money on businesses, not the false economy National love which is ri h people getting richer selling homes for a tax free bloody profit! I want hospitals and roads that work Nicola bloody what you talking bout Willis!

Jack Tame is an inspiration.

Jack. You are star. WELL DONE for this interview

I'd like to pick up the "getting beneficiaries back into work" section of your interview, Jack (BTW, I'm so happy that you and your team weren't axed from NZ TV, in favour of gameshows and sport!) are we going to see a paradigm shift away from WINZ case managers bullying beneficiaries into work? I'd like to see some government/private analysis done on the reasons why people become beneficiaries. I think that people born and raised in lower socioeconomic homes (or cars) are immediately disadvantaged, because bad living conditions, poor diet, no adult love and encouragement causes people to grow up angry and hope-less. If a person has no hope for the future, they're in a very dark place. How do we heal these inequities? Can Aotearoa New Zealand turn around these peoples lives into a positive framework? And I don't mean getting them all into church or having to find the christian god to find happiness. I'm talking about people rediscovering happiness within themselves, rediscovering their self-esteem. Life is about choices. Perhaps people who are born and raised in poverty (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) don't feel empowered to make any choices. What gives them their sense of pride and purpose in their lives? If they only have anger at an "unfair" system that's put them "at the bottom" of society, Then how do they begin to make positive changes in their lives? Life is about choices. We don't put a band-aid on a broken leg, this is a metaphor for the benefit and other help given to those in abject poverty. We're not fixing the base problem, which is the mental health/attitude of those born into lower socioeconomic families. Here's my suggestion ~ we need to open up Sensitive Claims ACC therapy to general abuse and living with poverty/poverty mindset; at the moment you can only get ACC funded therapy for sexual abuse. So when a beneficiary is seen by a WINZ Case Manager, they are asked a series of questions to establish a baseline for ACC therapy. They are paid a "wage" for doing this work on their mental health to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. This could be funded publicly (as a health improvement course) or privately by wealthy benefactors who wish to invest in those people to see them become positively integrated into society. It would be a Social Consciousness Investment. And before you say, "pfft! Why should we waste so much money on poor people getting their heads fixed?!" Please consider this, it can be a rough road recovering from surgery or an accident where only the body is involved, recovery from intergenerational poverty mindset/abuse/poor health/drugs/hopelessness is even more difficult to heal from, because mental health is still largely unavailable to poor people, because they don't think that they're worth it. That's the attitude that needs to be healed. Beneficiaries don't need further abuse by the system to be forced into low paid labour that only reinforces the poverty mindset and wrecks the body. No one deserves to be left behind. My other suggestion is ~ that Politicians learn how to clean their own toilets at work. No one should be above cleaning their own toilets, or doing their own vacuuming, or emptying their own rubbish bins, etc. Some of the politicians look like they could do with the exercise! They can be rostered on in weekly rotation to clean the Parliamentary buildings.

Jack your brilliant !

Go Jack! I found it hard listening to her bs and found it even harder to believe in the holes she states they found (implying Labour's errors) upon taking over. Despite her apparent views, New Zealanders are NOT stupid. Treasury told National that its numbers won't work yet they ignored that advice and went ahead, borrowing billions to provide rebates to their mates. I, along with many others, look forward to the next election. My only hope is that New Zealand survives until then.

I support the changes to tax threshold due to pay creep and deferring fees free, yet can the nation afford tax benefits for the well off and landlords at this time when the finance minister has to borrow to pay for it.

Shes so deciptive and delusional. She thinks were all idiots 😂

And by forcing both parent, solo parent out to work, no wonder children play up. CHILDREN NEEDS A PARENT HOME NICOLA! GOODNESS SAKES

I really don't need the tax releif, I would prefer this to go to vulnerable NZers. There should be a poll for those who would rather give it back or to cancel it full stop.

$12B borrowed for this budget - this isn’t a balanced budget and it doesn’t pay for ferries and essential requirements. A tax break for the well off.

Get in there Jack!!!!! ❤

"I'm just being honest with you, Jack" at what point?

Well done Jack. , A++

Great interview from Jack Tame, great journalist and great, difficult questions! Appalling policies from the minister of finance and this Government... Selective picking of the data, not a fair representation... but it is not a fair Budget. full stop. Officials advice is clear. maybe that's why they're cutting public jobs so they get fewer advice challenging their policies (because they're underlined by bad rationale...)

Austerity and fuck poor people is all I heard.

i find it funny how she keeps saying they "FOUND" this money from savings, in reality they encouraged workers to be fired for these savings, How much in unemployment benefits and other costs will these loss of jobs cost now and over the rest of their "ONE TERM GOVERNMENT" incure.

Get the ferries fixed before catastrophe happens. Fund the cancer drugs etc. Screw a couple extra bucks per week, will get absorbed into cost of living and NZ and it's infrastructure will continue to go backwards.

Statistics NZ unemployment on average for the past 35 years under National is a little under 7% under Labour is just a little under 5%

Well done Jack

I'm glad I can say that I didn't vote for any of this!

Honestly thinks we're idiots if she thinks we believe what she's saying about borrowing. If they didn't do the tax cuts they wouldn't need to borrow. Very simple Nicola!!

Stop blaming previous government for your fiscal holes Nicola. You did not do your homework! Why aren't the cancer drugs in the budget!

I would prefer if we borrowed money to spend on infrastructure that we desperately need over tax cuts that benefit the rich and the land lords. We need investment in Transport (rail infrastructure, public transport, active transport, safety upgrades) Water Infrastructure Healthcare infrastructure Housing infrastructure (we should be building more houses not less) This govt is not going in the right direction.

This whole interview has told me we need a capital tax

So a solution if you’re struggling on the benefit … just get a job. Easy. Failed to mention unemployment rising or acknowledged those with disability or those caring for someone who also can’t just ‘get a job’.

Be honest your government has taken from the poor to pay for your pay increase still waiting for Luxton to say Who he has given his pay increase too. Come on Luxton which Charity got your increase? How can beneficiary families move forward working or not when the market rent increases?

No promised funding for cancer drug patients, Now Pakeha's you know what broken promises are 😏

I voted National and am disgusted by this governments blind attitude to pushing through the tax cuts, especially as they're not funding cancer medicines

Operating budget versus revenue. It’s pretty straight forward Nicola. Debt equity is not evil. Governments use debt equity, all over the world.

Great interview

Jack is so good at getting answers and keeping the pressure on give that man a pay rise

For many of us single earners it’s a block of cheese a week

Thank you Jack. We need you.

I am not feeling confident this govt knows what it's doing for people beyond their constituency. They are clearly not doing their best and there is only so much time they can blame Labour.

How much tax cut for a retired veteran $4 a fortnight. Yet $180k household get $80 says heaps. Actually should be other way around. The first $10k should be tax free as GST already takes 15% add 10% income tax that's $2500 out of first $10k for either.

I've worked all my life my rent went up to market rent while I was in a state house my wages didn't even cover my rent

Thank goodness for Jack, the vulnerable NZer's advocate.

There has been no push back on testing outcomes from these ongoing cuts, what if they have gone too far ? With more to come !

You cut tons of govt jobs. So you put them on the benefit...lol

The current apathy and vitriol towards beneficiaries from this government and leaking into online discourse is so disappointing and disgusting.

What she really means is we would rather give money to landlords than save Kiwis lives. Inexcusable. If she’s so concerned about tax funds available then don’t give the public tax cuts and don’t give landlords tax cuts. Boom Pharmac has everything it needs. Why the hell promise those medicines and not deliver.

Someone should point out to Nicola Willis that the high interest rates are only a small part of the reason people aren't building. The high cost of building materials is the real problem. If the costs hadn't doubled over the last few years, a 7% rate wouldn't be the big problem it is now. Also how much would we have to borrow if the tax cut didn't go ahead, would it still be 12 billion?

Sadly, those who voted National, Act and New Zealand First must really Take a Good hard look at Themselves.. Sorry to say this Back then, I thought that this applied to those Voters who just had a Hatred for the opposition Were actually people like Duncan Garner and others But (" Suprise , Surprised ") The pendulum changed when National not only took the votes. but National also took the Advantage By getting hold of Act and New Zealand which got Them in Sadly, these parties also Showed their colours by Doing the opposite as well As creating RACISM not only in Parliament But those CLOWNS who Even had a HATRED for Their fellow Man and Women Which a lot of People myself included found That it also brought and Exposed for all to see And that was for all to see National and itt's voters Also had the CHEEK to Play THE BLAME GAME Which a lot of us found so Pathetic which also lead to "TOTAL DISCRIMINATION "

by getting a job? where are these jobs. they have just biffed people out of their jobs.

Nice one Jack

You encouraged us to use your tax calculator, I did - It said I’d get $98 pf relief… Then you released your budget, I did the new calculator, $42 a fortnight 🙃 I’d rather have kept paying the same level of tax and people kept their jobs or lower income people got relief instead.

We're all looking forward for your interview with Hipkins and having him explain the bombs he left National to open, Jack.

Our current economic situation is entirely, 100% driven by oversees factors. And always is.

I didn’t vote for her and I certainly didn’t agree for the country to borrow $12bn so I could get $40 tax a week in my back pocket. This is a dumb and wasteful budget and is taking us backwards. Where is the investment in our people and infrastructure!?!?

well done Jack..

Awesome battle , he asked some tough questions and she answered really well , top marks for Nicola shes pretty firm with him and had the answers . if only Jack was this tough on the greens , labour and especially te pati maoris blatant racism and apartheid policies

Lyin'luxon n his tobacco lobbyist goons

The Negative Nerd returns for yet another Negative Second hand Media presentation..

Always about rich people

🙃I've got some budget thoughts. I hoped for more tax breaks for businesses👨‍💼 it might have meant bigger paychecks💸 and people spending🤑 more stimulating the economy💰, and future tax cuts later on to coax landlords into lowering those sky-high rents🏡. I know it's like asking for a unicorn🦄, but a little magic never hurts, right? Balancing spending and savings is key for growth and more disposable income. As someone who dances between Māori and mainstream worlds, I'm not thrilled about diluting Te Reo Māori culture. I love Kapa Haka, the arts, and the language. Separate Māori governance is fine, but we need to team up with the main government for economic success for all. Think of it like making the perfect hāngi - everyone needs to bring their best ingredients. Investing in infrastructure, housing, financial aid, and community support like hospices and food banks is crucial. Fitness programs, free healthcare, libraries, and events are equally important. Despite these concerns, Nicola seems like she could calm a storm just by smiling at it. And big props to Jack for the interview! Sticking to your guns like that takes guts - nicely done!

Great interview this morning. Her twitching eye on each lie was hilarious.

“I’m on a benefit, I have not hope”.

My son gets $200 more working 20 hours than the $250 he got as a job seeker while he waits to start his electrical course.

landlords $3bn over cancer patients $2bn - says it all

She’s a downright liar. 🤥 spin doctor

Ambition for a low wage, high profit economy.

Yep and there's her answer to the sick and unemployed who didn't see an increase. Get a job.

In current times, caused in great part by a global pandemic (convieniently left out, the previous government navigated with a humane ideology, as left leaning do), you made a choice to give tax cuts rather than spend it in a different way. The times called for support not cuts for a campaign promise you lied about and did not deliver but chose to remain pig-headed about. You've increased the suffering as a consequence and have created increased social issues that will transcend generations. That's what you will be remembered for Willis. I can see you are clearly not comfortable with towing the party line because deep down you know it's wrong. Too bad you care more about your standing in the National Party rather than what logic and your gut is really telling you. Jack is pointing this out and you are defending something you clearly do not believe as a person. You are doing a bad job becuase these are clearly not your personal values. Resign now and save face or go down in history as a big mistake.

The irony of nicola willis telling people to get a job and then needing people to be unemployed is so lost on her

On going saving and Reprioritising What it means: Job cuts and borrowing.

How do people on the benefit get a tax refund 😂

NZ rely on for day today health, in some cases ongoing life. Well said from top of head Mrs Willis, thank you!!!

I really struggle to listen to this woman.

Liar and an awful one to promise drugs to cancer patients who they chose landlords needs over.

they really need to drop the blame game now. give it a rest

Man, its very concerning that she doesnt understand that reducing revenue via tax cuts means that we need to borrow more than if those cuts didnt exist. Thats basic maths

Income tax brackets should be automatically readjusted for inflation every year.

My personal view and experience. I understand the bigger picture and what is trying to be achieved here. I used to be on job seeker benefit and i would rather work for my money than have free money given because it gives me purpose. There are exceptions where elderly and disabled people should have these beneficial accesses. Other than that i believe the government wants the population to be able to provide for themselves and also be independently focused on their lives.

Can someone tell me how long this tax cut for people is for? and can someone tell me how long Labour's dental plan "was" going to be for? (can't be a year...) how long is interst dudctions for landlords going to be for? (LOL)

Another promise broken and the cover up? She 'suddenly' realised there were 'holes in the books'? A party whose slogan was to set the books in order was off by only 12 billion. Why do I keep getting the feeling that we've been had? That it was deliberate - not any sudden realisation? A false promises to come to power? With extra cash in individual pockets, many WILL feel good short term about paying for everything they've made user pays. Again that same feeling of having been duped.

Nicotine Willis and Shane Ciga Reti who has been MIA, along with Winfield Peters Stuyvesant. Luxon doing the backpeddling.

What's the average household income.

Pretty good job