1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,440 Speaker 1: Government's books have sunk further into the red in the 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: year to June, partly thanks to high personnel costs at 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 1: Health New Zealand and soaring acc claims. Treasury revealed the 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,720 Speaker 1: deficit on the Crown books deepened by three point four billion. 5 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: It was also one point eight billion worse than Treasury 6 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: forecast that was only back in May, the total twelve 7 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: point nine billion. Barbara Edmonds as Labour's finance spokesperson, she's 8 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: with me this morning. Good morning, Good morning, Ryan, Good 9 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: to have you on the show. Is this a bad result? 10 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a really grim read of the government accounts 11 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 2: to anyone has the actual look at them. This is 12 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 2: the largest annual deficit since the pandemic in twenty twenty. 13 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 2: And if you go back to the GSC, what's a 14 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 2: nominal term, as in the percentage of the economy. So 15 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 2: it's not a great read. The fact that they've had 16 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 2: to be revised a bit really shows that the economic 17 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 2: management is very dubious. 18 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: Okay, are you talking about Grant Robertson's So. 19 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 2: No, this is Nichol Willison, So this is good last 20 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,959 Speaker 2: and your deficit since COVID. And then if you look 21 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 2: at Grant at the GUS. 22 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: But the numbers tell us Grant Robertson added five point 23 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: six billion from budget twenty three. Nicola Willis took off 24 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: one point one billion since her mini budget. 25 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 2: Also, what you see is that the majority of this 26 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 2: is during the month's time. And if you've read on 27 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 2: page ten of the Fiscal Accounts, as you noted before, 28 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 2: part of the spending of it is because of the 29 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 2: higher cost of borrowing during obviously high inflation. 30 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 1: And who did the borrough. 31 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 2: Majority of its space? 32 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: Who did the borrow? Who did the borough. 33 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 2: Borough twelve point twelve billion for income sex cups? Yeah? 34 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:44,040 Speaker 2: But which lords? 35 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,919 Speaker 1: But which minister did the borring before that in budget 36 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: twenty three? And see what I'm saying. So the numbers 37 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: tell us that Grant added five point six billion from 38 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: budget twenty three, Nicola Willis took off one point one 39 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: billion since her mini budget. Do you disagree with that? 40 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 2: But what I don't agree with is that borrowing for 41 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 2: text cuts have made this worse. 42 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:06,639 Speaker 1: Yeah, I didn't need. 43 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 2: To be as bad as it did. That those were 44 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 2: the choices that this government have made, Okay, And the 45 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 2: borrowing that right Robinson had done again that in your 46 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 2: Giffert not this is higher than it was in twenty 47 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 2: twenty at the height of COVID. 48 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about because you said this is 49 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: a bad result, right, it's too high. Should we be 50 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: making more cuts to the public service? 51 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 2: No, okay, it should have reason being is that should 52 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 2: we be. 53 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:36,239 Speaker 1: Increased should we be increasing additional funding for cost pressures 54 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: for our frontline services and our government departments. 55 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 2: Will you ask the people who are struggling to see 56 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 2: their GP because their GP costs have gone up, they 57 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 2: would say that they would prefer that their TEXT cuts 58 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 2: have gone to help with that capitation fund. Then that 59 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:56,079 Speaker 2: would say for their GP fees to the inflation has 60 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 2: been pushed out to everybody that user pay system. That's 61 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 2: what I mean by public service cut? How do you 62 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 2: have gone too hard to fast? 63 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 1: Too hard to fast? It's only been apparently three point 64 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: three percent cut in the last six months, two thousand jobs. 65 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: There's still sixty four thousand working there. But how can 66 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: you have how can you keep the public servants increase 67 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 1: the budgets in line with inflation, but also at the 68 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 1: same time say the deficit's too big. 69 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 2: So Ryan, And that's the point. It's not just public 70 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 2: servants as in account of the people. It is the 71 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 2: cut through the funding that flows to the very the 72 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 2: different agencies that gets distributed to people to help them 73 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 2: during the cost of living crisis. 74 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, but how do you. 75 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 2: Fund mean by public services. 76 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: You can't have your cake and eat it too. You 77 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: can't say, well, keep all the public servants, We'll increase 78 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: all the budgets, but we'll also reduce the deficit. 79 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 2: Can you. Well, that's because you don't need to borrow. Well, 80 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 2: Labor could say that because you don't need to borrow 81 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 2: for text cuts, the land lords coome text cuts or 82 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 2: for text cuts with the better companies be the choices. 83 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: All right, Barbara, we have to leave it there. Thank 84 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: you very much for your time, Labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmunds. 85 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: For more from News Talks ed B listen live on 86 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever 87 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.