Wake up call: Government debt hits $90,000 per household today – “$90k Debt Day”

Based on the latest Treasury forecasts, New Zealand Government debt will tick above $90,000 per household for the first time ever at 10pm today, Sunday 19 May 2024. The Taxpayers’ Union is calling it “$90k Debt Day”.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“For the first time ever, the New Zealand Government Debt Clock will pass $90,000 per household. Our kids and grandkids will spend their lives paying this off, and it means less money for core services like health, policing and education.

“This means the average household is now having to stump up about $4,500 a year just paying the interest on the debt. That’s more than the cost of the defence force, police, corrections and customs combined.

“And it’s nowhere near stopping. Right now, Nicola Willis is borrowing $75 million a day to keep an over-bloated Government afloat. Her so-called ‘cuts’ barely scratch the surface of what is needed to get the books back into black.

“Kiwis can only bend so far before they break. Struggling families need Nicola Willis to take an axe to wasteful spending and deliver serious savings in the Budget on 30 May."