5/3/2021 8:22:56 PM GMT | By Ross J Burland
Reuters has reported that New Zealand s debt level is projected to reduce from the middle of the decade as the country s economy recovers from the impact of the coronavirus, the finance minister said in a pre-budget speech on Tuesday. The levels of debt that we have taken on to save New Zealanders’ lives and livelihoods are projected to reduce from the middle of the decade. We are in a good position to handle the debt we have taken on the minister, Grant Robertson, said in the speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
Luke Malpass08:57, May 04 2021
STUFF
Grant Robertson praises the resilience of the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic in a pre-budget speech on May 4.
In his first major pre-Budget speech, Minister of Finance Grant Robertson has warned that while New Zealand exports are getting out to the world, “supply chain issues” will continue to affect the country for the rest of this year and potentially into 2022. He also flagged a Productivity Commission inquiry into immigration, announced on Monday, as an opportunity “to have a mature debate about immigration, its positives and negatives”. Robertson used the speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce at Te Papa to put the Budget, which will be handed down on May 20, into the context of economic recovery. He repeated the Government s overall goals of increasing New Zealanders’ well-being, working to reduced child poverty and combat climate change.
Covid 19 coronavirus: $1 billion boost, Finance Minister Grant Robertson s recovery Budget priorities
3 May, 2021 08:43 PM
4 minutes to read
Finance Minister Grant Robertson. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Almost $1 billion that was allocated for the Covid-19 response last year was never spent, and Finance Minister Grant Robertson has put it back into the Covid fund to spend on the recovery.
Robertson delivered the first of his pre-Budget speeches this morning to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, saying Budget 2021 would be a recovery Budget .
He also announced he had been tasked by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with heading a new unit in her department that was responsible for ensuring delivery on the Government s priorities such as mental health, infrastructure, climate change, and housing.
Minister of
Finance
The Government’s strong pandemic
response and the better than expected economic recovery
means not all the money allocated in the COVID-19 Response
and Recovery Fund has been spent, Grant Robertson said in
his annual pre-Budget speech to the Wellington Chamber of
Commerce this morning.
“As part of Budget
preparation I asked each Minister to look again at the areas
of the COVID spending for which they were responsible to see
if it was still required or still a priority, and whether
underspends could be reprioritised.
“This exercise
has yielded around $926 million worth of savings,” Grant
Robertson said.
The government has $926m of Covid-19 response and recovery funds to spend.
The government has found $926 million worth of savings from its Covid-19 response and recovery fund, which will be used to help the economy recover from the effects of the
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