Episode Details

National is accusing Labour of having a “hidden bill”, worth $18 billion, in its spending plans. 

Finance Minister Nicola Willis says they promised to outline how it would fund its election commitments after the Budget, but no credible plan has been provided. 

But Labour disputes this, promising everything will become clear in the party’s fiscal plan, which will be released later this year. 

The big focus is Labour’s Future Fund, which would take ownership of some Crown stakes and shareholdings, using the dividend revenue to fund other policies. However, this would leave a $2.7 billion hole in public finances. 

NZ Herald Political Editor Thomas Coughlan told Kerre Woodham that Labour is refusing to say what will be redirected into the Fund until after the election – which they’ve rightly copped flak for. 

But he believes that after the election they might quietly try to kill it by making it a very small fund —around 10–15% of what was promised— which could help the numbers stack up. 

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