Finance Minister Grant Robertson: health, education and poverty focus of Budget 2018

Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson says the new Labour Government's first Budget in 2018 will prioritise child poverty, rebuilding public services - in particular health and education - and climate change.

"These will be the guiding principles when we decide which projects will be funded in Budget 2018.

This is a Government that believes we need to do some things differently in order to establish a sustainable and inclusive economy."

He said it was essential to rebuild the public services, saying there had been nine years of underfunding under National especially in education and health.

Robertson made the comments during the release of Treasury's Half Yearly Fiscal Update which set out Treasury's revised forecasts under the new government.

Labour also used it to cost the policies of the first 100 Days programme, including releasing the final shape of its major Families Package, most of which will come into effect in July 2018.

"Child wellbeing will remain at the centre of this Government's work as long as we are in office. We want to support families get ahead and we want to see a better sharing of wealth in our economy.:"

Robertson defended drawing down more debt to re-start contributions to the Super Fund - which would begin with an immediate $500 million injection.

"We think this is an important signal that we are prepared to invest in future generations now. There is a shared commitment across the coalition to keep superannuation eligibility at the age of 65. This is a contribution to doing that and one we believe is important."

Although its borrowing would almost hit $70 billion, it was on track to get below 20 per cent by 2022 - slower than National had planned but within Labour's own target.

He warned it would not go below that level for some time, saying those levels of debt were needed to pay for the infrastructure New Zealand needed.

Robertson said the new Government had managed to stick to the five principal Fiscal Responsibility Rules. In the future he wanted Treasury to use wellbeing as a monitor of economic success as well as the more traditional models.

Robertson's said although growth was initially slower and surpluses lower than had been forecast prior to the election, both were forecast to pick up over time.

In his briefing, Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf said that was partly as a result of the stimulus from the new Government's policies such as KiwiBuild and the move to lift the minimum wage to $20 a hour which would boost wage growth.

Robertson said the Government was committed to lifting wages "and we are very pleased as the forecast period moves on wage growth moves substantially ahead of what was forecast."