The black budget report

Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, May 28th, 2009 - 48 comments
Categories: budget 2009 - Tags:

This post will be updated by the Standardistas as the details of the Budget come out. If you have special knowledge of a field and spot something that we (and the mainstream media) are likely to miss, drop us a line at thestandardnz@gmail.com and we’ll put it up.

—

[2:17]

Contributions to the Superannuation Fund have been suspended. Sheer madness when its making a fortune and assets are there to buy at historically low prices.

National is simply ideological opposed to superannuation and so opposed to its future funding (which is why they labelled it the Cullen Fund).

[2:22]

They’re suspending the Cullen Fund for 10 years. That’s getting up to the point where the Fund is meant to be making payments. It’s not a temporary suspension for a temporary recession. It’s a death sentence for the Superannuation Fund and so a deth knell for superannuation entitlements. All they’ve done is set the execution date for twenty years in the future.

[2:24]

And tax cuts suspended indefinitely.

[2:26]

Ah, health, the total over 4 years is $3 billion. $750 millon a year. The absolute bare minimum to maintain services

[2:38 (updated 3:01)]

Cuts:

The cuts – total appropriations 2008 and 2009 budgets:

ACC: $1.236 billion to $1.266 billion (below inflation)
Agriculture and forestry: $943 million to $249 million
Arts, culture, heritage: $292 million to $294 milliont (below inflation)
Attorney-General: $68 million to $66 million
Audit: $74 million to $73.7 million
Biosecurity: $188 million to $185.6 million
Community and voluntary sector: $58 million to $45 million
Conservation: $444 million to $419 million
Consumer affairs: $6.1 million to $5.9 million
Crown Research Institutes: $1.8 million to $1.1 million
Education: $11.220 billion to $11.500 billion (below inflation)
ERO: $31.5 million to $30 million
Emergency Management: $15.3 million to $12 million
Employment: $19 million to $15 million
Energy: $445.5 million to $250 million
Fisheries $153 million to $114 million
Food safety: $105 million to $100 million
Immigration: $202 million to $199 million
Justice: $410 million to $401 million
Lands: $173 millon to $154 million
Maori Affairs: $214 million to $180 million
Overseas Aid: $523 million to $500 million
Ombudsman: $8.3 million to $8 million
PI Affairs: $8.4 million to $7.5 million
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment: $3.2 million to $2.8 million
Police: $1,503 million to $1,503 million (below inflation)
Revenue: $7,000 million to $5,792 million
Security Intelligence: $36.9 million to $37.5 million
Senior citizens: $1.035 million to $1.035 million (below inflation)
Sport and recreation: $75 million to $67 million
Women’s Affairs: $4.9 million to $4.8 million
Youth development: $14.8 million to $14.6 million

A sea of cuts. We’ll delve into what specific programmes are going.

[2:42]

Well the tax cuts are gone, we knew that would happen. They are officially ‘deferred’ but to no certain date.

What’s the bet that they run on tax cuts in 2011? What else can they run on? If you’re a one-trick pony you’ve got to promise to deliver that trick. Even if you failed to go do last time.

The tax cuts should never have been promised in the first place. They were clearly unaffordable when National promised them in October last year and National should be ashamed of making a promise it knew it could never deliver. (Before you start, Labour’s smaller tax cut promises were made in May last year, before the crisis developed and were affordable at that time).

48 comments on “The black budget report ”

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  1. Peter Johns - bigoted troll in jerkoff mode 1
    28 May 2009 at 2:27 pm

    o fuck up you wanker, save for your own super, do not rely on th gummint.

  2. bilbo 2
    28 May 2009 at 2:27 pm

    “Contributions to the Superannuation Fund have been suspended. Sheer madness when its making a fortune and assets are there to buy at historically low prices.”

    http://www.nzsuperfund.co.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145855927

    How do you define making a fortune ?

    • Tom Mathews 2.1
      28 May 2009 at 3:00 pm

      Also, low prices isn’t the same as mispriced prices. Perhaps the prices are low because the fundamentals are poor?

      Just putting it out there.

  3. Christopher Nimmo 3
    28 May 2009 at 2:48 pm

    “Conversation $381 million to $346 million”

    Ugh. I don’t even want to talk about it.

  4. Pascal's bookie 4
    28 May 2009 at 2:50 pm

    “They’re suspending the Cullen Fund for 10 years”

    Tory Wankers. Rob Muldoon all over agin.

    • infused 4.1
      28 May 2009 at 3:04 pm

      No surpluses in the next 10 years… so yes. Be pissed at Labour for spending all the cash on bullshit.

      • Kevin Welsh 4.1.1
        28 May 2009 at 3:45 pm

        Infused, these retards couldn’t even see six months in to the future last election.

        What makes you think they can see ten years into the future?

    • Bevanj 4.2
      28 May 2009 at 3:21 pm

      “The government will make contributions to the Fund from available surpluses. Where these are insufficient for making the required contribution a reduced contribution would be made. If this were the case, the government would need to specify how it would make up for the reduced contribution in future.”
      http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/questions+and+answers+proposed+nz+superannuation+fund

    • aj 4.3
      28 May 2009 at 3:36 pm

      Yeah. The recent tranche of tax cuts should have been repealed and the $$ channeled into the Super fund.

      • Bevanj 4.3.1
        28 May 2009 at 3:50 pm

        …because those investments are performing well right now and stimulating the economy?

      • bilbo 4.3.2
        28 May 2009 at 6:24 pm

        Should we put working for families entitlements in there as well ?

  5. mickysavage 5
    28 May 2009 at 2:56 pm

    We need a short snappy name for this budget and “black budget” has already been used.

    How about Phil Goff’s line “the dishonest budget”?

  6. mickysavage 6
    28 May 2009 at 3:08 pm

    Or the budget of broken promises?

  7. Mr Magoo 7
    28 May 2009 at 3:21 pm

    I guess the one consoling factor in all this is that inflation is likely to be lower than otherwise in these recessionary times….

    Kind of a bleh budget. (there is my name for it)

    It could have been a lot worse. Effectively trimming cost and fulfilling a few promises so their righty voters don’t choke too much. No Muldoon bogey men.

    However a point that should be noted is that there is NOTHING in there that is going to help NZ get out of the recession. While other governments around the world are stepping up ours has effectively stepped back completely.

    Is this fear? Are they possums in the recessive headlights? All that big talk and high school-esk bluster in Q time and during the election and the budget is….bleh???

    I mean I know they are completely out of good ideas. I guess their caucus reflects their summit…or perhaps it was they were out of ideas and had the summit?

    Anyways. Bleh.

    • Philonz 7.1
      28 May 2009 at 4:19 pm

      Spot on there Mr Magoo.

      It’s a totally *meh* budget. It’s pretty hard to spin this as a black budget or to compare it to Richardson’s ‘Mother’. No slashing of social services, no benefit cuts. To be honest, I kind of wish there was more to get all grumpy about. Seem to be no plans for job creation or stimulus though so I’ll get grumpy about that.

  8. Outofbed 8
    28 May 2009 at 3:22 pm

    where is my cheese budget ?

  9. r0b 9
    28 May 2009 at 3:30 pm

    Bait and switch budget. Feh.

  10. gingercrush 10
    28 May 2009 at 3:41 pm

    “It wasn’t the mother of all budgets but father couldn’t deliver?”

  11. r0b 11
    28 May 2009 at 3:44 pm

    Tax cuts gone as expected. Brian Rudman did an excellent piece on this. Before the election, English promised of National’s tax cut package:

    “National has structured its credible economic package to take account of the changing international climate. Our tax cut programme will not require any additional borrowing.”

    A few days later, Mr Key launched “a tax package for our times” that is “appropriate for the current conditions”. He said it would require “no additional borrowing, or cuts to frontline services to fund it. There is, in fact, a small saving to be made, of $282 million”.

    Somehow, cutting taxes dramatically was going to increase government income. On December 16, Mr English was up in the House confirming “National will not be going back on any of those promises, as we fully costed and funded them“.

    The Government is now making out some economic thunderbolt has suddenly hit New Zealand and thrown their pre-election calculations out the window.

    But even economic ignoramuses like myself knew a global crisis was nigh. The experts had been saying so for long enough.

    So when National said the cuts were “fully costed” and they “will not be going back on any of those promises” – were those deliberate lies, or were they just plain incompetence? Which do you think?

  12. Kevin Welsh 12
    28 May 2009 at 3:48 pm

    Security Intelligence gets an increase… Shouldn’t they have kept that a secret?

  13. George D 13
    28 May 2009 at 3:58 pm

    The Standard and Poor budget, Cunliffe is calling it.

    • r0b 13.1
      28 May 2009 at 4:04 pm

      That certainly fits. (Like a glove…)

    • inpassing 13.2
      28 May 2009 at 4:21 pm

      very good.. indeed.. fits the be all and before all.. congrats Cunliffe..

      Ripp0 asked me add, however, that for a guy in a neck brace and somewhat stiff and sore all over these past days what he heard was a lucid and decisive Bill English who, you can bet, has a darned better sight of economic environmental impacts than most folks on this blog..

      But could have been better but for Sean Plunket – yeah I know they have to save bits of the speech for news bulletins’ freshness – ill-timed over-riding commentary early on.. the specialist journos came in fine later, but the objection is to lack of BE’s iterations early in the piece.. better next time.. eh..

      • bilbo 13.2.1
        28 May 2009 at 6:26 pm

        Cuntliffe should call it the Cullen budget – it is virtually identical to what Cullen would have delivered …….. has anyone seen Bill English and Michael Cullen in the same room ?

      • mickysavage 13.2.2
        28 May 2009 at 9:03 pm

        Impassing

        BS

        English and Key promised tax cuts no matter what at the same time that Helen and Cullen were saying that it was irresponsible and should not be done.

        Guess who was right?

        Cullen was the best financial brain this country has seen in quite a few decades. The PR job on him was impressive but with the benefit of hindsight we should acknowledge his contribution.

        • bilbo 13.2.2.1
          29 May 2009 at 8:21 am

          If Cullen is the best financial brain in the country God help us all……… FFS he was rodgered senseless by the Aussies over Kiwirail made an appalling fiscal/political decision regarding AIAL and continued to allow copious wads of cash to be flushed down the welfare toilet……….. this is to be balanced against his sound financial management in relation to paying down debt, the super fund, treaty settlements etc.

  14. burt 14
    28 May 2009 at 4:06 pm

    First budget after a multi term Labour govt – what more did we all expect.

    • RedLogix 14.1
      28 May 2009 at 4:21 pm

      So if it was all so predictable Burt, why was English still promising not to renege on his tax cut promises of just a few months ago?

      Or indeed why were YOU not predicting that National were lying about their tax cut promises?

      • Mr Magoo 14.1.1
        28 May 2009 at 4:34 pm

        Actually he might very well have been trying to explain why they were the “perfect” stimulus for a recession economy…that is what that tired old tory has been english was doing….

  15. Peter 15
    28 May 2009 at 4:16 pm

    A sensible budget. No more Visa-nomics.

    Labour blew all our surpluses on toy trains, upsizing KFC and hug-a-polar bear policies. Good riddance.

    • Helen 15.1
      28 May 2009 at 4:26 pm

      Yes Peter, we’re here because of Labour, who taxed us to our knees in the boom times and flushed the tax take down the welfare toilet.

      Disappointing that National didn’t take the opportunity to dismantle the welfare state, which would have been the fairest option. Getting rid of the Gospel of Waitangi gravy train would have been great too.

    • mickysavage 15.2
      28 May 2009 at 9:14 pm

      So many new names in this post. It is so easy to set up alter egos.

      It is also easy to trot out a couple of slogans. Shame really, the right ought to front up and actually debate the issues.

      Trains are a favourite of mine.

      If we are at peak oil then in 20 years time this will be the most important investment that we could have made. Care to respond?

      And Visa-nomics? Good slogan. The only problem is that Cullen was the skinflint who insisted on paying off the visa card and made major inroads into the mortgage as well as kicking off the investment account to make sure that we could retire with dignity.

      Taxed to our knees? Last year felt so much more comfortable than this year.

      Today’s budget means essentially that the baby boomers will either work for a further period of years or will not receive super. Care to say which one it is?

  16. jarbury 16
    28 May 2009 at 4:27 pm

    The Futureless Budget? The Myopic Budget?

    • George D 16.1
      28 May 2009 at 4:53 pm

      The $10.5 billion on new roads budget.

      Now, I don’t have a problem with the Government spending money, but putting it into ever more roads? And these tend to be capital intensive projects, with only moderate labour components when compared to similar amounts of spending elsewhere.

      • Macro 16.1.1
        28 May 2009 at 9:12 pm

        As well as robbing maintenance on rural roads at the same time! Madness! We will end up with goat tracks. While John roars up and down on a motorway between Auckland and Hamilton!

  17. George D 17
    28 May 2009 at 4:55 pm

    Chauvel is also saying the Greens got swindled with the insulation funding – when funding cuts from health and EECA are considered. Is he right? I’d like to know.

  18. gobsmacked 18
    28 May 2009 at 6:30 pm

    The Pork Pie budget. They lied in the morning, they lied in the evening.

    Tory cheerleaders love to cite online polls, of no real meaning, to claim support for their views. I say they’re crap, but since they like to play that game …

    Check out Stuff’s poll on the budget. Over 70% against the broken promises.

  19. tsmithfield 19
    28 May 2009 at 7:07 pm

    Transferred to another topic

  20. ben 20
    28 May 2009 at 10:02 pm

    Sheer madness when its [the Cullen fund] making a fortune

    Its down 29%. -29% return over five years.

    What’s a fortune? +50? Its 79% shy of that.

    What is wrong with you? You will argue black’s white if that makes Labour look good. You sad, sad people.

    • mickysavage 20.1
      29 May 2009 at 8:45 pm

      It is up 8% in a month. Wow I wish I could achieve the same result.

      So if we do not invest in it our children and grandchildren have a $30b hole to fill in 30 years time.

      Talk about history repeating itself. The Douglas scheme in 1975 was the last good thing he did but Muldoon killed it.

      Now English is killing the Cullen fund.

      Tories are all the same. They cannot think more than 3 years ahead and doing something for the good of the population in 20 years time is completely beyond them.

      • Phil (not Goff) 20.1.1
        29 May 2009 at 10:53 pm

        It is up 8% in a month.

        Since inception, the Cullen find has grown at half, yes HALF, the going rate on T-bills.

        As the old saying goes, even a dead cat bounces when you drop it from a great height.

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