Finance Minister Grant Robertson: "We will carefully prioritise our spending to maintain the balance between short-term needs and long-term requirements." Official figures show a deficit of $4.3 billion for the five months ended November, $546 million less than forecast in the December fiscal update. The lift in consumer spending continued, but at a slower rate, with GST revenue $400m above forecast. Income and corporate tax revenue were also $300m higher than expected. The December update forecast a budget deficit of $21.6b for the year ended June.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 29, 2021 01:52 UTC