We’re not as fragile or as lazy as Luxon says

The Kākā by Bernard Hickey · Feb 19, 2024 · 14m

TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has adopted the language of Ruth Richardson before her 1991 ‘Mother of All Budgets’ in arguing for benefit sanctions to bolster the Government finances, which he said were in such a mess that there was a risk of losing the confidence of creditors.

Luxon said it was time New Zealanders had a ‘grown-up conversation’ about the ‘brutal facts of our reality’ and he would not shy away from taking ‘hard decisions’.

But just how perilous is the Government’s financial position? And if it is in such a mess, who should bear the brunt of the ‘hard decisions'?…