Willis’ fiscal failure explains the circus

The Minister of Finance has been sitting on some of the worst public finance numbers New Zealand has seen in decades and after the dreadful state of the books revealed today, it is now obvious why Nicola Willis has spent the weekend trying to turn a serious discussion into a sideshow.
 
“Despite her repeated public claims of being willing to debate “any time, any place”, Minister Willis has said no on three fronts: the timing, the location, and the host,” said Hon. Ruth Richardson, Chair of the Taxpayers’ Union.
 
“Rather than a genuine, good-faith round table discussion in a Wellington studio, the Minister instead pushed for a circus at Parliament chaired by Winston Peters. In the face of the level of fiscal failure revealed today, it is clear why she wanted such a distraction.”
 
“The outlook delivered today is the worst in 30 years. It gets lost in the billions, but no one was expecting the books to be anywhere near this bad.”
 
“The debate was supposed to be about whether there is a credible pathway back to surplus; today’s numbers show there clearly isn’t one. Over the last two years, Minister Willis has pushed back surplus another three years. If there is a so-called ‘path to surplus’, Willis is walking the wrong way.”
 
“I will not be party to a circus or a sideshow designed to distract from fiscal failure.”