Meh

That's the only way to describe this year's Budget. Another privatization - Meridian Energy this time - and a lot of reshuffling of spending, to achieve what? 5%-plus unemployment, stretching on as far as the eye can see. National's supposed "recovery" will be a jobless one, which will grow the underclass while funneling more money to their mates at the top. Public services get cut, while money gets shovelled at private schools, charter schools, and irrigation schemes (a direct subsidy to farmers). Meanwhile, contributions to the Cullen Fund are suspended for another two years, until 2020, so that National's rich old mates can continue to enjoy artificially low taxes at the expense of the next generation.

There are three bright spots. First, National bowed to sanity and continued funding for the Warm Up New Zealand home insulation scheme. It has enormous benefits compared to its costs, but it came from the Greens, so they hated it; I'm glad they've seen sense. Secondly, GCSB gets their budget for spying cut by $10.5 million. Do that for a few more years and we'll be safe from them. Finally, National's "surplus" has been achieved by reducing the operating allowance for extra spending next year - which means next year's election-year budget is going to be even more miserly than this one, hopefully reducing their chance of electoral success.