NZ Herald Budget Reaction

The Herald’s headline is “Cullen reneges on ‘chewing gum’ cuts”. It is worth recalling this was a budget promise made in election year, and regardless of the fact it was not popular (as it did not go far enough) its cancellation is a clear broken promise.

Audrey Young describes the budget as a sweet and sour menu for bosses.

John Armstrong says Kiwi Saver is the next best thing to compulsory superannuation. I agree it is de facto compulsory.

Brian Fallow says the ordinary taxpayer is losing patience.

Laila Harre says the budget should have done more to help the poor. I presume she means benefit increases. Here I am with Labour – I’d rather give more to people in work.

Richard Prebble looks at the SOEs and how they are being outperformed by the private sector, such as TV3 beating TVNZ. He also points out that last year civil service pay increased around 40 per cent faster than inflation and 30 per cent faster than the private sector.

Fran O’Sullivan says Cullen has his spot in NZ history, calling it a first step towards the implementation of a compulsory superannuation scheme. She says Cullen will still go down in history as the Finance Minister who had the guts to tackle savings – however imperfectly – when so many political predecessors wimped out.

And the NZ Herald itself says KiwiSaver is bold and tempting.