New Zealand’s economy is in a “precarious position” with productivity lagging behind former Eastern Bloc countries and government spending up 84% since 2017, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Laxon said in his first address to the nation since taking office.
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“I have to be honest with you, New Zealand, and say: the state of the nation is precarious,” the New Zealand National Party quotes the prime minister as saying on its website.
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Lacson noted that the country’s government spending has increased by 84% since 2017, and the national debt has risen from five billion New Zealand dollars (three billion US dollars) to a “staggering projection of more than 100 billion New Zealand dollars” (about 60 billion US dollars).
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“New Zealand’s economy is now less productive than large areas of the former Eastern Bloc, including Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Lithuania… Inflation remains high – the cost of living crisis is not yet over, with inflation higher than Australia, the US, Canada and Japan “, the prime minister added.
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Lacson’s government, formed by a coalition of three center-right parties, has vowed to tackle the cost of living crisis by ending wasteful spending and refocusing the central bank solely on price stability.
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The government expects that tight fiscal policy will help return inflation to the target level.
