Budget 2006: Reaction

The allocation of an additional $1.3 billion for new road building shows the Government has yet to fully grasp the fact that our future will be dominated by peak oil and the effects of worldwide climate change and these expensive motorway projects will be nothing but white elephants.

This is a mad, petrol-headed, road-building, vote-seeking budget; but I can't work out whose vote they think they are courting.

Aucklanders have moved out of their cars since fuel prices rose and use of public transport has doubled in just a year; despite a fare increase, buses and trains are absolutely full at peak hour. So who do they think is going to vote for this?

Are they really only interested in the votes of petrol heads and boy racers?

- Jeanette Fitzsimons, Green Party co-leader

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This year's Budget represents a missed opportunity to invest towards productivity and growth gains. It contains some good policy directions for the future but lacks a true economic transformation agenda.

It's positive that roading needs are being addressed, but there are still concerns about negative incentives for the private sector to invest in infrastructure.

Comments regarding the possibility of further regulation of telecommunications send unfortunate signals to investors.

Other business-related areas including export assistance, skills training, and literacy and numeracy initiatives are positive, but the amounts allocated were small in the overall context of the Budget spend.

Incrementalism - rather than economic transformation - best describes the 2006 Budget.

- Phil O'Reilly, Business NZ Chief Executive

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The minister of Maori affairs didn't get a bean -- how's he going to explain that to our people?

This budget is about power and control at all costs, with only token efforts at providing the support people need to take control of their own lives.

- Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia

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Expectations were rock bottom, but still Michael Cullen managed to disappoint. This is a Clayton's budget. There's nothing in it. No plan, no policy, no vision, nothing.

The Government has a choice -- sap the wealth of the country and generate dependency, or develop policies that allow people to prosper and stand up independent, and that's what New Zealanders want.

- ACT leader Rodney Hide

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I think it's very positive that at last we are getting some money which is going to be devoted to obesity because it is a really serious health problem.

When you consider $76 million over four years to the cost to the health system of obesity and diabetes it's a pretty small amount -- however it's more than we've had before. Obviously we would like some money.

The other thing we need really is regulation to change some of the environmental things that make it very hard for people to make healthy choices.

These include regulating marketing, having mandatory nutrition policies in schools and teaching of nutrition and cooking to children.

- Celia Murphy, executive director, Obesity Action Coalition

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The economic transformation that the budget is heading us toward will make New Zealanders increasingly reliant on the state, and less likely to take responsibility for themselves, or for saving and investing for their own future.

Dr Cullen is not demonstrating any entrepreneurial streak. Aside from the $800 million over five years for meeting Transit's funding gap, the balance of today's budget is at the expense of tax cuts.

We are very pleased to see the guarantee of funding for roads, and the bonds issue of $1 billion of debt funding to connect up our transport networks. We have been arguing for just such a commonsense approach as this for the past six years.

But the other budget spending is at the expense of cutting taxes which would be a more efficient and faster route to economic transformation resulting in the 'flexibility and adaptiveness' sought by Dr Cullen.

To pay for the budget's spending, taxes are locked in at their current levels, removing the opportunity for personal savings and for individuals to invest on their own behalf.

Business welcomes the added investment in modern apprentices and other programmes to boost kiwi's skills, as well as more funding for exporters and R&D, we doubt it will slow down kiwis heading across the Tasman in search of higher paid, lower taxed jobs.

- Alasdair Thompson, chief executive, Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern)

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There is no coincidence that New Zealand First's five policy platforms from the 2005 election – senior citizens, immigration, law and order, Treaty of Waitangi and an export led economy – feature so strongly in today's budget, because it is a genuine MMP budget.

From the significant increase of $126 million in elder care funding and the development of a Golden Aged Card for seniors, through to the $500 million to dramatically boost police numbers, and making Tauranga's new Harbourlink Bridge toll-free, New Zealand First's imprint on this budget is unmistakable.

We have demonstrated clearly that parties who work constructively are able to deliver for their constituents across a range of fronts and make a real difference to the lives of our families, businesses and workers.

We are particularly pleased to see that the Government is now using the language of New Zealand First, from pursuing an 'export-led economy' through to 'securing our borders' in immigration.

The difference between this government and National is that this government at least gives us some credit when they borrow our policies.

While New Zealand First does see some gaps in the budget – we would like to have seen all of the petrol excise put into transport infrastructure for example – we do believe that it is generally headed in the right direction.

This budget demonstrates that some parties have matured with MMP and that the public got it right to reject those parties that simply don't understand that by working together you can get more done. New Zealand First is proud to deliver on its promises and to fix it like we promised for all New Zealanders.

- Winston Peters, leader, New Zealand First party