Inside the Capital: What to expect during budget week as politicians ready themselves for the big day

The Budget is on the brain at Parliament and the countdown to political Christmas is on. 

The books will open early for the eagerly awaiting journalists and analysts who get the first look from 11am Thursday, before it goes out to the wider public. Interest.co.nz will be in the lock-up at Parliament, and will be releasing coverage from 2pm.

But it wouldn't be New Zealand politics without some extra drama before then.

Big ticket items this week - 
Wednesday: Reserve Bank (RBNZ) reviews the Official Cash Rate (OCR). It's tipped to hold at 2.25% by economists.
Thursday: The 2026 Budget. Read about what's expected here.

Duck drama

A chorus of quacks rang out in Parliament on Tuesday, after the Prime Minister said he could not hear a question over quacking from the other side. That was in reference to leaked Labour audio, reported on Stuff, of an internal list ranking meeting has senior MPs making what leader Chris Hipkins described as "more flippant" answers to a flippant question.

Asked if they would rather fight a horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses, some of the answers included Barbara Edmonds referring to Finance Minister Nicola Willis as a "duck-faced horse”, a comment which she later apologised for, Kieran McAnulty saying they were up against the 100 duck sized horses because horses were "full of shit", Ginny Andersen said Christopher Luxon was "a sitting duck" and Ayesha Verrall singing her answer to the tune of Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road'.

Hipkins said it was a good reminder "that all of these events are public events, even if they're internal party events, MPs and candidates need to be aware that the information can be shared more widely".

No sweet treats in Budget 2026

According to Finance Minister Nicola Willis, there's to be no sweet treats in this Budget (although the Press Gallery, Willis, Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour and NZ First deputy Shane Jones just returned from Puku Pies in Petone following a budget trip to the printing press - we can confirm the pies were pretty sweet).

Willis said instead, "New Zealanders need us to invest in health services, in our schools, in our police force".

"These are the essential things that Kiwis rely on, and as a responsible government, we're ensuring that they're prioritised."

On the consequences of the Middle East conflict, following analysis from ASB that more than a quarter of New Zealand’s economy has a high, or very high, direct or indirect exposure to disruption from the Strait of Hormuz, Willis said there was no doubt it was showing up on New Zealand shores.

"Every household can feel that when they fill up at the pump, and we're also seeing businesses having to absorb that higher oil price in their products and supply chains, and so that is having an impact on our economy.

"However, what the Budget will show is that with careful planning and good choices, we can still look forward to growth, more jobs, better incomes, and more affordable cost of living in the years ahead, that's not to be taken for granted."

Asked the same question, Hipkins said the high fuel prices would have a flow on effect to the economy. He said while it depended on what happened over the new few months, he would have more policies in that area closer to the election.

The name of this years budget is still up for grabs.

Housing

On what's in the Budget for housing, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said while we'll just have to "wait and see... housing is a priority of this government, both delivering better social housing, but also fixing the underlying fundamentals of our housing system, so that over time we can have a more productive economy that looks after people better."

Asked how the new merged ministry - the Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport - would change the way housing is dealt with in New Zealand, Bishop said the Ministry itself would not do that, but ultimately it would be the new infrastructure funding and financing system.

"Those are the first two pillars of our going for housing growth policy. They will do the heavy lifting in terms of that, because it's fundamentally about land supply settings and about infrastructure settings that will unlock housing growth for New Zealand, but MCERT will bring together all of those policy linkages into one ministry and make sure that we can provide integrated policy advice to drive that forward.

"It will also be a better partner for local government in relation to some of these challenges."

Crayfish

Shane Jones brought a massive live crayfish from Ngāi Tahu down to the bridge run on Tuesday to mark seafood week. There have been a lot of animals roaming the halls over the years - but there is a possibility this is the first crayfish.

Nash returns

Former Labour minister Stuart Nash confirmed this week his return to campaigning, running for the seat of Napier for NZ First. Nash also intends to go on the party list.

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