New Zealand to release 2021 budget
New Zealand’s Minister of Finance Grant Robertson will today unveil this year’s national budget.
Although Robertson was skeptical in his previous February update, New Zealand’s 2021 budget will be better-than-expected. A significant drop in the unemployment rate and refinement in business confidence ameliorated the country’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The unpredicted drop of national debt levels provided Wellington with greater capital. In today’s announcement, Robertson will underline the budget’s significance for New Zealand’s plans to achieve complete financial recovery from the pandemic.
The government will use the budget’s funds to spend on social services in the fields of public well-being, climate change and education. The government will prioritize spending the available capital on housing affordability to address the problem of growing homelessness, especially amongst the Maori population. Given its displeasure with the Labor Party’s (LP) housing policies, such as KiwiBuild, their center-right traditional rival, the National Party, will attempt to convince New Zealand voters that the LP’s motives will cripple the national economy in the long-term. However, the Labor Party perceives the budget as a crucial opportunity to reverse its declining popularity in opinion polls.
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