A tick the boxes budget

Budget 2018 has a "tick the boxes" approach which will probably do the job the Government wants but without generating much political upside, or downside.

We look at the budget package.

Economic and fiscal outlook

The economic outlook offered by the Treasury is solid – growth picking up from 2.8% this year to around 3.3% in the next two years before slipping back under 3% as immigration volumes ease and interest rates begin to rise.

The fiscal position is also sturdy, allowing Finance Minister Grant Robertson to maintain his promised surpluses while also easing the purse strings a little since the publication in December of the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU).