Former National Party Finance Minister Ruth Richardson attempted to bring those realities home late last year. The problem is the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union which she presides over was too cute by dishing out “Nicola’s fudge” to journalists and opinion leaders thus personalising their campaign against Finance Minister Nicola Willis. These are publicly funded, non-partisan bodies operating outside direct government control and designed to improve fiscal policy transparency, sustainability and accountability. Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson considered just such a proposal in 2018 when he endorsed a Treasury paper on the issue. “But public debt is at its highest point for 30 years.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 20, 2026 21:42 UTC