When exactly did New Zealand become a nation of whingers? When it comes to climbing mountains, chasing a rugby ball or fighting in the trenches we pride ourselves on being as tough as they come.

Why then, when it comes to financial matters, do we start whining and making excuses. The idea that banks have any legal or moral obligation to cut mortgage holders a break on fixed-term contracts is absurd.

Those complaining about the level of the break fee are missing the point. You are not supposed to break the contract at all. When you sign up for a fixed term you have made a deal. The default position is that you must honour that deal for the term of the agreement. To break it simply because it is no longer working in your favour is - literally - dishonourable.

Nothing about the fixed nature of the deal is buried in fine print. They call the things fixed-term mortgages - the length of the term is also in the title and the risk involved in the transaction is naturally shared by both parties.

For the best part of a decade mortgage holders have done extremely well out of fixed rates. Much to the annoyance of the Reserve Bank we have been buffered from the most immediate impacts of rising interest rates. New Zealand's obsession with fixing effectively blunted Governor Alan Bollard's axe as he attempted to chop the top off inflation by raising rates and restricting the cash supply.

Now as we go through the next part of the economic cycle - the bit where rates come down - we hear borrowers bleating that they are being overcharged for the privilege of reneging on a deal.

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English this week made comments which came dangerously close to indulging the whingers.

He should say no more.

New Zealand is up to its neck in debt and already precariously positioned when it comes to finding the international funds to service its obligations.

What kind of message would it send to the world if our Government was seen to endorse the actions of those who seek to worm out of banking contracts?

Shall we risk scaring lenders off and pushing wholesale borrowing rates for our banks even higher? The net result would be all of us paying higher rates than we need to.

The idea that the Government - in particular a National Government - might actually intervene and put pressure on banks to cut borrowers a break is crazy. Surely English understands what is at stake.