By Mandy Te, with additional reporting by Anna Whyte
This year's Budget has been met with a range of responses, a collection of suggested names (the broccoli, brick house or little b budget), and has drawn a deeper divide along the political lines, with coalition partners championing a forecasted, early return to surplus, while opposition parties say it fails New Zealanders who need help most.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis described it as the "responsible" Budget, with Treasury forecasting a return to surplus in 2028/29.
"We know New Zealanders expect us to make responsible investments in health and education and in the infrastructure our country depends on. We are doing that, but they also expect us to keep our books in order and ensure that if a rainy days hit, we are ready to respond," she said.
Asked about ACT wins in Budget 2026, ACT MP Andrew Hoggard said “the main win for us is around fiscal discipline”.
“We’re not the sort of party that’s after big headline numbers of ‘we got you this size lolly’, it’s about being constrained, making sure that we’re returning to surplus a year early.” Hoggard said for ACT, that would be the big win there.
“Because at the end of the day, it’s about keeping as much of a lid on as possible on inflation and interest rates because that’s what kills businesses, that’s what kills everyday families in terms of just absolutely making life really, really hard. Keeping those things under control is important.”
Hoggard said ACT was able to champion more funding to tackle wilding pines, the Incentives for Growth Fund and RMA reform funding to ensure the implementation of the new planning system.
Asked about how he would describe the Budget and what’s in it for ACT voters, Hoggard said it was about setting a good foundation for the future.
Hoggard, who is a farmer, said he was representing long-term thinkers and farmers.
“There's a lot of stuff we're doing in here that's foundational for the future, so I think that's how that benefits my community.”
He said making sure we return to surplus a year was going to help. “It's about smart thinking for the future.”
‘Nicola Willis’ last Budget’
Asked by interest.co.nz what she thought of Budget 2026, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said it’s more cuts, more pain and a higher-cost budget.
In campaign mode, Edmonds said talking to people in the Kenepuru electorate, the number one thing for them was the cost of living.
“I don’t see anything in here to directly address the cost of living but I see a lot of cuts to the public services that they rely on.”
Edmonds said Labour had been waiting for the Budget before it announcing its policies.
“The next couple of days, I’ll be crunching through the Budget itself … I’ll be working through that with my team to ensure that the promises we’re going to deliver through our policy announcements, which will start to roll out from June, that we can deliver them for New Zealanders.”
Edmonds said “we want a more affordable New Zealand, and we want an economy that works for all”.
Asked how she would describe this Budget, Edmonds said she hadn’t described it as anything in particular “but it’s Nicola Willis’ last Budget”.
‘Steady as she goes approach’
New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones told interest.co.nz that he regarded this Budget “as something as a brick house budget”.
“We’re in a rebuilding phase."
"There’s no tinsel, there’s no goods and we’ve taken an approach that we’re still rebuilding the economy, rebuilding the institutions through taking a steady as she goes approach and it’s up to the public to determine whether or not that’s going to resonate.”
Jones said the public were; "looking for parties like the one I belong to, to show professionalism and act in a vein that keeps the show on the road and where we have significant differences, park them to the last period of time closer to the election".
‘Nothing in here for people doing it tough’
Asked how she would describe this Budget, Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson told interest.co.nz: “There are whānau and children who have already been doing it tough and they’re being asked to do it tougher. They’ve been asked to tighten their belts.”
Davidson said she was quite angry but not surprised the Government “once again, cares about themselves and their rich mates”.
“People have been struggling to pay their food bill, pay their power bill and at the same time, who’s raking it in? Supermarkets, banks, power companies … Why should people be struggling when those companies are posting record profits.”
Davidson said she would have liked to have seen more from the Budget that covered the cost of living.
“When we are taking the stress out of people’s everyday struggle, that just improves wellbeing all around our communities. Surely that’s a wise investment. There’s nothing. There’s nothing in here for people who have been doing it tough.”
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