Finance Minister Bill English's seventh budget is a
workmanlike affair.
The English "brand" is there in the
steady-as-she-goes fiscal and economic management and in the finely
targeted policy interventions.
The talking points will be the benefit increase, the new
passenger departure levy and the removal of the $1,000
"kick-start" payment to encourage the KiwiSaver habit (a
decision which is expected to save the Government more than $500
million).
But business may be disappointed in the paucity of
initiatives to support the Government's Growth
Agenda.
Economic and fiscal overview
The growth forecasts have been wound back since Budget 2014 as
the stimulus created by low interest rates, strong population
growth and robust investment activity is off-set by sluggish global
demand and the inhibiting effect of the high exchange rate on
exports.
