The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union submitted feedback on the Treasury’s Long-term Insights Briefing on fiscal sustainability through economic cycles. While the briefing aims to guide future economic policy, we argued it underplays key risks around government spending, inflation, and long-term debt.
In our submission, we called for clearer roles between monetary and fiscal policy, opposed additional monetary tools that contributed to inflation, and strongly supported creating an independent fiscal institution to improve oversight. We also pushed for better economic data, full capital expensing to drive investment, and greater compliance with fiscal rules, particularly the need for a clear path to reduce government debt and surplus.
This matters because weak fiscal discipline and poor policy coordination have already contributed to inflation and economic instability. Without stronger oversight and a focus on sustainable spending, New Zealand risks ongoing deficits, rising debt, and reduced economic resilience in future shocks.
