Does Budget 2019 go far enough to address poverty?

May 31, 2019

1 NEWS political editor Jessica Mutch McKay explains.

Some say the Government's wellbeing Budget does not go far enough, with concerns there is not a sense of urgency to address poverty.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she believed Budget 2019 would "change peoples lives".

Porirua GP Sarah Sciascia said she sees "poverty in the face" every day, and said that "money is being injected into great spaces, but I know that sitting at home right now is a whanau with very little in their fridge".

Read: Mental health, child wellbeing and rail – the big winners of Budget 2019

The Prime Minister said the Budget and the families package should impact between 50,000 and 70,000 children.

"We've kept debt low, we've got low unemployment, we've run our second budget surplus all at the same time investing in New Zealanders."

National leader Simon Bridges labelled it as talking "a big game on wellbeing and year of delivery and delivering".

"What you've got to have is a strong economy and a plan for growth of that economy otherwise you can't over the long term do the stuff New Zealanders expect and deserve.

"There was nothing there that says these guys know what they are doing on the economy."

Also this week, a cloud has been hanging over the Finance Minister's head from the Treasury saga, with National able to access sensitive Budget information through the website's search tool.

"New Zealanders want us to focus on whether or not we are delivering on mental health and child wellbeing and investing in infrastructure, they are not that interested in these sorts of political games."

However, the future of Secretary of Treasury Gabriel Makhlouf is still in question.

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