Budget 2019

The wellbeing budget is a very bad name for a very good idea

The wellbeing budget is a very bad name for a very good idea

The wellbeing budget is a genuinely big idea, and deserves to transcend a messy week.

By Duncan Greive | 1st June, 2019

Tax! (Image: Toby Morris)

Budget 2019 sees New Zealand enter the eye of the global tax storm

Despite dominating the political agenda for much of the year, tax was barely mentioned in the budget. That doesn’t mean the work there is over, writes Greg Thompson of Grant Thornton New Zealand.

By Greg Thompson | 31st May, 2019

James Shaw, Grant Robertson, Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters ahead of Budget 2019 (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

The Wellbeing Budget and what it means for mental health

Recognising that mental health is affected by the environment we live means we can focus on getting the fence built at the top of the cliff rather than the therapist at the bottom.

By Olivia Wills | 31st May, 2019

Grant Robertson embraces Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after delivering the 2019 budget presentation at Parliament (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

The well-meaning budget

Labour's debut wellbeing budget is a solid jump to the social spending left but could hardly be described as transformational.

By Maria Slade | 31st May, 2019

James Shaw, Grant Robertson, Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters ahead of Budget 2019 (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Wellbeing Budget 2019: The great Spinoff hot-take roundtable

The stakes are high for Grant Robertson's much heralded Wellbeing Budget in the year delivery. What are the expert verdicts?

By The Spinoff | 30th May, 2019

W is for Wellbeing: An alphabetical guide to the 2019 Budget

W is for Wellbeing: An alphabetical guide to the 2019 Budget

The 2019 Budget is coming out this Thursday, and with it a whole bunch of impenetrable jargon.

By The Spinoff | 29th May, 2019

Is tax the best way to balance social equity? (Image: Toby Morris)

We need to completely rethink what ‘fairness’ means when it comes to tax

Should the collection of taxes be the point at which we talk about fairness, or should fairness be part of a completely different conversation?

By Oksana Simonoff | 28th May, 2019

Amy Adams, photographed on April 24, 2017 in Turkey. (Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Amy Adams: The budget needs to focus on substance, not just branding

Opposition finance spokesperson Amy Adams on the rhetoric behind the first wellbeing budget, coming later this week.

By Amy Adams | 27th May, 2019

There is often a sense of distrust among groups like charities and social enterprises towards the government (image: Toby Morris).

What the Wellbeing Budget needs to succeed: trust, support and understanding

Now that we know what the Wellbeing Budget is, the question is how we can create the right political and social environment to support it, says Grant Thornton’s Barry Baker.

By Barry Baker | 23rd May, 2019

Department of Internal Affairs estimates one in five New Zealanders experiences digital exclusion (Image: Toby Morris)

The digital divide is creating two New Zealands. The budget must help bridge it

If the wellbeing budget is going to do something about the long-term productivity of the country, it must address the growing gap between digital haves and have-nots, writes Grant Thornton’s Helen Fortune.

By Helen Fortune | 20th May, 2019

What even is a ‘Wellbeing Budget’? The Spinoff talks to Grant Robertson

What even is a ‘Wellbeing Budget’? The Spinoff talks to Grant Robertson

This month sees a landmark moment in the economic approach of the Ardern government, with the first 'wellbeing Budget' unveiled. How is it different, and what can we expect?

By Maria Slade | 13th May, 2019