Conclusion
Mr Speaker,
The measures announced in this Budget will put both the Government's finances and the economy on a much sounder footing despite a series of adverse events and a slower economic recovery.
The projected operating deficit will fall dramatically over the next three years. It will be in significant surplus from 2014/15.
This is a year sooner than the position forecast last year.
Contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund are projected to resume from 2016/17.
The debt projections have also improved.
Even absorbing the cost of the earthquakes, net core Crown debt is now projected to peak at 29.6 per cent of GDP in 2014/15 and then decline steadily.
This contrasts strongly with the outlook of ever-rising debt which the Government inherited in late 2008.
Debt would have peaked at around 27.5 per cent of GDP in the absence of the earthquakes.
Looking further ahead, continuation of current policy would see net debt eliminated entirely by 2024.
This emphasises the responsible, longer-term approach taken by this Government, which will leave future governments with choices about whether to invest, spend or reduce taxes.
It will also provide room to ride out future recessions, which surely will occur.
Our long-term fiscal objective remains to ensure that net debt remains no more than 20 per cent of GDP by the early 2020s. The current projections show this being comfortably achieved.
Mr Speaker,
Budget 2011 is about building our future.
The Prime Minister has made clear this Government's aspirations for an economy that values enterprise, rewards people for effort and encourages them to get ahead.
This is not a typical election year Budget. It is a responsible Budget appropriate to New Zealand's situation.
Budget 2011 shows how, from the depths of the global financial crisis when a decade of red ink was in prospect, and despite the devastating Canterbury earthquakes and other setbacks, the Government has laid the basis for future prosperity.
It is within sight of budget surpluses and falling public debt.
It has funded reconstruction of Christchurch, our second largest city.
It has in prospect the strongest growth for a decade.
It has materially improved the tax system.
It has placed KiwiSaver onto a sounder, more sustainable footing, and instilled a culture built on savings rather than debt.
And it will provide future New Zealanders with real choices about further lowering taxes, adding quality public services, or both.
We set a path for responsible government spending from the start of our term, and we maintain that path in this Budget.
This Budget continues to build a platform for a much stronger, more ambitious New Zealand.
Mr Speaker,
I commend this Budget to the House.
