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Bill English
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David Cunliffe
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John Key
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Otago Daily Times
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The Budget 2014
We've heard what the NZ Herald editorial had to say about Bill English's sixth Budget. Let's head to the other end of the land; the ODT opines:
Budget 2014 was handed down yesterday without much fanfare.
We all knew it was coming, of course, and most believed the pre-Budget hype of a predicted surplus after six years of fiscal restraint.
Many hoped there would be some loosening of the purse strings. Finance Minister Bill English has largely delivered.
This was the Budget that National - right from the time of its re-election in 2011 - would have hoped it could produce leading into this year's election.
Mr English has not swayed from his path of fiscal restraint. Sure, he has had to borrow heavily during the past six years, but not to the extent the country plunged into recession.
Now, the return to surplus gives options such as paying down debt.
The careful management of the country's finances by Mr English, and his team of ministers, has helped ensure New Zealand has been mainly immune from the worst of the global decline affecting Europe, parts of Asia, the United States and, latterly, Australia.
Economic growth has been one of the highest in the OECD and, for once, all Treasury indicators are pointing in a positive direction.
This was a Budget of few surprises, but with enough good news to count for something.
Dunedin isn't quite Dipton, but the good folk of the South are generally fiscally conservative; a nod to a strong Presbyterian influence in days gone by. And the ODT leader writer seems to like the prescription dished up by Mr English yesterday.
After dissecting a few of the measure in the Budget, the ODT editorial concludes thus:
Budget 2014 is a clever document, with thoughtful spending alongside continued moderation.
It will enable Prime Minister John Key to go into the election campaign confident his 2008 promises of fiscal restraint, providing the best care for families, and delivering a better public service have not been compromised.
Opposition parties will have to promise big to counter National, and if they do, the onus will be on them to say exactly how they will fund those promises.
This is Mr English's sixth Budget. If National is re-elected in September, what are the odds Mr English will not be there to deliver the next three?
Given the return to surplus, it would be no surprise if he delivered one more, perhaps to prove to doubters a surplus is possible, before standing down and perhaps leaving Parliament for a future overseas.
If he is looking for a document to define his legacy as Finance Minister, Budget 2014 is a good place to start.
There is some criticism the Budget is too conservative, but that personifies Mr English, who learnt the trade from former finance minister Sir William Birch. And would most New Zealanders rather have a gambler as a finance minister, or a safe pair of hands?
The ''Boy from Dipton'' has lived up to his reputation as a ''conservative'' politician in every way.
We most certainly don't want a yeah-nah gambler such as David Cunliffe leading the next Government. Nor do we want the Greens within a bull's roar of the levers of power, let alone the nation's coffers.
John Key and Bill English set out a plan when National was elected in 2008, and the economy was heading downhill at an alarming rate. Bill English has taken a consistent, pragmatic and conservative long-term view, and that has proved to be the right recipe for the times.
New Zealand's economy will return to surplus in 2014-15, and Bill English can rightly claim the credit for his unwavering focus on his plan. As the ODT notes, this Budget will define his legacy as Minister of Finance; a Decade of Deficits turned around in just six years.
