Bernard Hickey joins Toby Manhire for a cross-pod conversation on the low-frill, high-gluten budget.

With the political and economic gravities pulling in various directions, the finance minister was tasked with providing support for the hardest hit by the cost of  living crisis without heaping sugar into an already high inflation rate. And on top of that, it’s election year.

To assess whether Grant Robertson managed to thread that needle, the hosts of Spinoff podcasts Gone By Lunchtime and When the Facts Change convene for a budget special.

Were the changes on ECE fees, prescription charges, public transport and energy subsidies acutely targeted? And was the “building for tomorrow” part of the budget title sufficiently funded?

Leaning into the culinary theme, Bernard put it like this: “There was bread and butter. But there was also some lettuce in there, and the odd bit of chicken. It wasn’t spectacular … Not too rich, but not too dry. There were some lamingtons, but there wasn’t much cream.”