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Budget 2026 – Govt failure to properly tax major banks leaves much needed revenue on the table

Source: Better Taxes for a Better Future

The Government has chosen to make cuts to public services that ordinary working households rely upon, rather than tackling the real challenges of filling the gaps in how we tax excessive corporate profits and wealth. In particular, the failure to adopt a banking levy, supported by a majority of the public, reveals the Government's priorities.

“The Government's failure to advance a levy on big banks shows that the Minister of Finance is more interested in keeping the Big 4 Australian owned banks on side than reining in the excessive profits they're taking from the NZ economy and shoring up our resilience to any future banking failures,” said Kate Stone, Better Taxes for a Better Future spokesperson.

“While the “Prudential Regulation and Supervision” measure is welcome, it will only raise $68.1m in 2027-28, which will go to the Commerce Commission, and does not address the enormous profits banks are making in New Zealand.”

“The Big 4 Australian-owned banks are making enormous profits out of NZ. Their New Zealand profits increased by 25% in real terms over the past 10 years. Meanwhile, ordinary people are struggling to put food on the table,” said Stone.

“The irony is that the Australian owned banks are paying a full bank levy in their own country, but not here. Polling we commissioned from Talbot Mills, released earlier this week, showed widespread support for a banking levy in New Zealand. So it is disappointing that the Government lacked the courage to match what the Australian Government put in place years ago.”

“If we had adopted a levy like Australia that would have generated $275-300 million, and if we'd also adopted an excess profits surcharge as in the UK that would have generated at least a further $250 million. This is revenue that could fund the cost of increasing the housing supplement, without raising the rents for social housing tenants. Or better yet, could be used to build more social housing units. The Government is leaving this much needed revenue on the table,” said Stone.

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Budget 2026 – Transporting New Zealand welcomes infrastructure and energy-focused Budget

Source: Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

Road freight association Transporting New Zealand says additional transport and infrastructure spending announced in today’s Budget will support economic growth and jobs at a time of significant economic uncertainty.
Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive Dom Kalasih said investments in the Cambridge to Piarere Expressway, state highway resilience, additional strategic fuel reserves, and contingency funding for fuel price support demonstrated the Government was maintaining focus on long-term infrastructure and supply chain resilience.
“The Government has shown a continued commitment to addressing New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit and delivering fit-for-purpose transport infrastructure despite tight fiscal conditions. That’s good news for productivity, safety, and keeping New Zealanders in employment.”
The Budget includes $150 million for additional strategic fuel reserves to strengthen New Zealand’s fuel resilience, along with a $450 million contingency reserve for temporary targeted support if international fuel market conditions worsen.
Kalasih said the Government was sensible to avoid making inflexible commitments on future fuel excise duty and road user charge increases given current global volatility and ongoing cost pressures.
“Given the current levels of international uncertainty, and transport cost pressures on New Zealanders, it makes sense for the Government to keep their options open on when to increase fuel excise and road user charges.”
“There is serious pressure on land transport revenue, and pausing next year’s fuel tax and road user charge increases would delay essential road maintenance and improvements.”
Kalasih was more cautious about increased rail funding, saying previous rail freight investments had delivered mixed results.
“Rail plays an important supplementary role in New Zealand’s freight system, and targeted investments can deliver good outcomes in the right corridors.”
“However, despite substantial investment over recent years, rail freight volumes and market share have been trending downwards. The Government will need to ensure future investment is carefully targeted to areas such as the Golden Triangle, where rail freight demonstrates the strongest commercial and operational performance.”
Kalasih said Transporting New Zealand was continuing to review the Budget in detail and looked forward to sharing further insights with members.
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Budget 2026 – A Cautious Budget That Leaves Room for Bigger Thinking – Business Canterbury

Source: Business Canterbury

Business Canterbury says today’s Budget largely met expectations, delivering a fiscally responsible approach.

Chief Executive Leeann Watson says, “The Minister aptly described this as a ‘Responsible Budget’, and that’s broadly what we’ve seen. Given the signals leading in, we expected a disciplined and relatively conservative package, with limited direct support for business.

“While that discipline is important in the current environment, it cannot come at the expense of building a stronger economic future. At first glance, there isn’t a clear, cohesive growth story running through this Budget, particularly when it comes to lifting productivity, encouraging investment, and supporting the private sector to expand.”

“Many of the initiatives announced will have positive impacts across the business community, but nothing that will substantially shift the dial on driving economic growth and productivity.

“Businesses will ultimately drive economic growth and recovery in New Zealand. While there are some good initiatives such as proposed changes to fringe benefit tax which should reduce compliance burdens, and the doubling of trade training which strengthens the pipeline from school to work, there remains very little targeted at unlocking business investment in productivity at scale.

“We had signalled ahead of the Budget that productivity-focused policies would be the most practical and impactful pathway forward given funding constraints.

“While we didn’t necessarily expect to see all of those tools deployed in its Budget, we do need Government to be using every lever available in the coming months.

“Infrastructure investment remains critical, particularly for regions like Canterbury and the wider South Island.

“Investment in resilient infrastructure is needed, but we also need to get ahead of the curve, not simply fix what’s already broken.

“Now is the time for bold, forward-looking decision making. That doesn’t necessarily require significant new spending, but it does require a clear focus on improving the settings for businesses to invest, innovate and grow.

“Businesses have shown time and again that they are resilient. What they need now is a policy environment that makes it easier to do business and supports long-term growth.

“We will continue working constructively with Government to ensure that happens.”

Business Canterbury, formerly Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, is the second largest Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand and the largest business support organisation in the South Island. It advocates on behalf of its members for an environment more favourable to innovation, productivity and sustainable growth.

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Save the Children: Budget 2026 offers little relief for children and families living in poverty

Source: Save the Children

Save the Children is concerned for the welfare of New Zealand’s lowest income families, with Budget 2026 offering little additional financial support for those struggling most.
Save the Children New Zealand’s Advocacy Director Jacqui Southey welcomed the investment in education and health infrastructure that supports children, but noted the Budget provides little relief for families reliant on welfare. She says it is unlikely to ease the pressures faced by households and will do little to reduce current rates of child poverty.
“For families reliant on welfare who are already making difficult choices every week about whether to warm their homes, pay for fuel or put nutritious food on the table, sadly Budget 2026 does nothing to make life easier.
“Instead, initiatives such as lowering maximum payments of Temporary Additional Support (saving $196 million) or increasing social housing costs by around $30 a week will be particularly tough for many individuals and whānau.”
Ms Southey says the announcement that around 9000 public service jobs are going to be cut, leaves many New Zealanders feeling increasingly uncertain of their job security. Rangatahi are also very worried about their futures and opportunities they will be able to access.
Says Ms Southey: “Youth are already bearing the brunt of New Zealand’s tough economic environment. The Youth Unemployment rate is the highest in almost a decade, at 15% nationally. Young people are feeling the consequences of lack of job opportunities, and those still in school have told us they are worried about what’s next for them when they finish their secondary education.
“The Fees Free incentive to encourage young people to take on tertiary education has been cut with those in university reeling at their sudden increase in cost and likely debt they hadn’t accounted for. Those considering university studies report being put off and potentially shut out of tertiary study due to the cost of the study, but also their living costs while they study with many students unable to access student allowances.”
We do want to acknowledge the increased investment to support youth struggling to access jobs through vocational learning initiatives. Solutions to enable higher youth employment and opportunities are critically needed.
Ms Southey says it is positive to see the Government’s renewed investment in the Healthy School Lunches programme, breakfast programmes and community food support, at a time when families are increasingly struggling with the rising cost of living, especially with rising fuel costs from the war in the Middle East.
Save the Children would like to see longer term funding committed to ensure a sustainable and adequately funded Healthy School Lunches programme that is critical to tackling rising rates of food insecurity children and families are facing.
About Save the Children NZ:
Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.
Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and alleviating child poverty.
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Budget 2026 – "Misery Budget" 2026: a crumbling house with a fresh coat of paint – Workers First Union

Source: Workers First Union

Today’s Budget 2026 is a “misery Budget”, according to Workers First Union, with students, women, public servants, people with disabilities and our natural environment paying for the Government’s election-year desperation just to maintain the status quo.
“This is an austerity Budget from an austerity Government, and it does not meaningfully address any of the challenges ahead of us – it’s just about keeping New Zealand on life support,” said Dennis Maga, Workers First General Secretary.
Mr Maga said that cuts to fees-free study and tertiary subsidies, the loss of thousands of public servants’ jobs, rent hikes for social housing tenants, the ongoing denial of pay equity for women, and cuts to transport subsidies for disabled people showed that the Government was making New Zealanders pay for their economic mismanagement and inability to create a fairer tax system.
“Any projected surplus will be built from the misery of those who can’t afford to sacrifice any more during a cost-of-living crisis that this Government fuels and maintains,” said Mr Maga.
“They’re like dodgy landlords who add a fresh coat of paint and a second-hand grey carpet onto a mouldy, crumbling house whose foundations are slipping off the edge of a cliff.”
“Meanwhile, we’re all paying for MPs to take accommodation supplements for their second houses and funding more military, prisons and roads.”
“Additional funding for health and education is not enough, is too late, and comes after years of deliberate underfunding.”
Mr Maga said that even new ambulance funding announced by the Government on Friday last week masked an urgent crisis in emergency services and was not a sufficient or serious solution. 
Workers First and CICTAR’s new “Emergency!” ambulance report highlighted that fully funding New Zealand’s ambulance services would cost at least $50 million per year at current service levels, and even halving the vast Trans-Tasman pay gap for ambulance officers would cost at least another $69 million per year. Instead, Budget 2026 confirms an extra $8.75 million per year over four years following a rushed pre-announcement that hides the true reality of the problems our emergency services must urgently confront.
“Luxon, Peters, Willis and Seymour lead a government that is hallucinating as badly as the AI tools they intend to replace 9,000 public servants with,” said Mr Maga.
“We desperately need the Opposition to now step up and show us that there is a better way, or New Zealand’s downward spiral will accelerate.”
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Budget 2026 – Federated Farmers welcomes investment in provincial highway resilience

Source: Federated Farmers

Government investment in roading resilience in the face of an increase in severe weather events is sound thinking, Federated Farmers infrastructure spokesperson Mark Hooper says.
“Federated Farmers has been calling for more funding for rural roads and key regional freight and access routes.
“It’s very pleasing that in a tight Budget the Government has found $400 million to tackle drainage, slope stabilisation and rockfall protection at known weak spots, such as the Waioweka Gorge in Gisborne and SH60 Tākaka Hill in Tasman-Nelson.
“This is in line with the truism that ‘a stitch in time, saves nine’. Building in better resilience ahead of the next flood or storm makes sense.
“We can’t continue to see communities like the East Coast or Golden Bay cut off every time a major rain event occurs.”
Ultimately, however, if experience shows a route or piece of public infrastructure continues to be highly vulnerable to weather events, investigation and funding of alternatives is needed.
“The cost of repeated highway and rural road patch-ups quickly mount.
“As the Infrastructure Commission has pointed out, New Zealand needs an agreed, prioritised 30-year pipeline of infrastructure upgrading to build and retain a skilled workforce.”
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Budget 2026 – A black Budget built on human misery – PSA

Source: PSA

Today’s Budget makes clear the heavy price public services, and all New Zealanders will pay to make Nicola Willis’s numbers add up as she unveils deep cuts across government departments.
Nearly 9000 public service workers – one in seven – face losing their jobs over the next three years as $2.4 billion is ripped out of budgets.
“This is a black Budget built on human misery for public servants, social housing tenants and many others – the impacts will be felt for generations to come,” said Fleur Fitzsimons National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pukenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“This Budget will scar our country and will go down in history as one of the worst.
“This is a Budget not about securing our future as the Finance Ministers puts it – quite the opposite. Public services are being knee capped at a time when we need an effective, well-resourced public service sector than ever before.
“The Government is cutting core public service spending by $2.4 billion – that’s money gone from services New Zealanders need, now more than ever. Less, means less. Lower quality, slower and fewer services.
“This will add to the pain so many are suffering now through this lengthy downturn.
“Public services are already struggling. These cuts will make it worse. Our survey of public servants in March paints a bleak picture of public services now, before these deep cuts. Over half say their agency’s ability to deliver has got worse in the last year.
“And worse is to come.
“How does it make sense to cut $470 million from the Ministry of Social Development at a time when its clients need support now more than ever?
“Why does Conservation, the agency protecting our precious natural treasures and tourism drawcard lose $120 million?
“On top of that the run down of social housing continues at pace with Kāinga Ora cutting investment in housing stock by $368 million.
“And health spending is no record – it does not undo the damage already done including losing 1000 data and digital experts from hospitals all over New Zealand.
“All this reflects the choices the Government made over the last two years to give $20 billion away in tax cuts to landlords, business and others.
“This Budget makes it clearer than ever that this government has to go, and the PSA will be making that choice clear at the election – if you want a public service, vote for change.”
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
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Budget 2026 – Investment to support a bold future for taonga Māori

Source: Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust

Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust acknowledges the Government’s $10 million investment as a significant contribution towards advancing Māori artistic excellence, artists and Māori cultural leadership on the world stage.
Te Māori Trust Deputy Chair Ngātaiharuru Taepa says the investment provides support towards caring for the enduring mana and global future of taonga Māori.
“This investment recognises the mana, depth, and excellence of taonga Māori. It gives us the ability to take our taonga, our people and our mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) to the world with ambition, integrity, and purpose.”
The announcement comes as the legacy of Te Māori exhibition (1984-87), which opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, continues to shape the direction of Māori art and cultural leadership internationally.
Speaking at the 25th anniversary of Te Māori in 2009, Tā Hirini Moko Mead, who helped create the touring exhibition, reflected on its lasting influence.
“Te Māori was groundbreaking and transformative. It reshaped how we saw ourselves, influenced how museums operated both here and in the United States, and changed how we as Māori related to our taonga.”
Taepa says that legacy remains a powerful foundation for the Trust’s future direction.
“Te Māori shifted the world’s understanding of Taonga Māori-from curiosities of the past to being recognised as an important part of a living culture of artistic excellence. This investment will enable the Trust to build national and international partnerships, expand fellowship and exhibition opportunities, and ensure taonga Māori continues to be valued and celebrated.”
Last month, the Trust, in partnership with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, launched a fellowship with the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford, which holds significant collections of taonga Māori.
“Opportunities like Pitt Rivers place our people within some of the world’s most influential institutions. They allow Māori artists and curators to lead, to learn, and to bring our perspectives into global spaces of shared understanding,” Taepa says.
“Our focus is on caring for taonga as part of a thriving culture and creating space for new taonga to emerge. This is about honouring our past, elevating our taonga, and ensuring Māori art thrives for generations to come.”
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Fonterra – Sustained performance in Q3 as Fonterra executes on strategy; announces 2026/27 Farmgate Milk Price

Source: Fonterra

  • Total Group operating profit: NZ $1.8 billion, up $103 million relative to prior year
  • Underlying earnings per share: 57 cents per share, up from 53 cents  
  • FY26 full year forecast earnings range lifted and narrowed to: 60-70 cents per share, up from 50-65 cents per share
  • 2025/26 season forecast Farmgate Milk Price narrows: NZ $9.60-$9.80 per kgMS, from $9.40-$10.00, with the midpoint unchanged at $9.70 per kgMS
  • Announced opening 2026/27 season forecast Farmgate Milk Price of $9.75 within a range of $8.00 – $11.00 per kgMS
  • Season to date milk collections: 1,489m kgMS, up 4% on last season.

Fonterra has today released its FY26 Q3 business update, demonstrating sustained performance and progress on the Co-op’s strategy, with year to date Total Group operating profit of $1.8 billion, up $103 million on this time last year.

The Co-operative has lifted and narrowed its full year forecast earnings range to 60-70 cents per share, due to confidence in the Co-op’s contracted sales position for FY26 and our ability to navigate ongoing supply chain disruption.

The forecast Farmgate Milk Price midpoint for the current season is unchanged at $9.70 per kgMS, with the range narrowing to $9.60-$9.80 per kgMS.

The Co-operative has also announced an opening forecast Farmgate Milk Price for the 2026/27 season of $9.75 with a range of $8.00-$11.00 per kgMS to reflect potential impacts across the season from ongoing geopolitical risks and inflationary pressures.

CEO Richard Allen says, “Today, we’ve delivered another strong result. Milk production is up considerably this season, and despite disruption in global supply chains, our sales book is well contracted and our shipping volumes are strong, with the highest third quarter shipment volumes in a decade.

“As we look ahead to next season, we expect milk collections to remain high, in line with this season. Our in-market sales teams are anticipating solid demand from across the regions despite potential volatility, and this is reflected in our opening forecast range.”

Business performance

A disciplined focus on strategy has driven a Total Group year to date operating profit of $1.8 billion, up from $1.7 billion the prior year, and profit after tax of $1.1 billion, equivalent to 65 cents per share.

Adjusting for Mainland’s result to reflect the Co-operative's underlying business, the Co-op delivered $946 million profit after tax, equivalent to earnings per share of 57 cents, up from 53 cents this time last year.

The Ingredients business benefited from ongoing protein demand in the US and Europe, while Foodservice continued to achieve both volume and margin growth.

Strategy execution

Mr Allen says the Co-op is committed to delivering on its strategy and growing value for farmer owners as a global B2B dairy provider.  

“During the quarter, we completed the sale of Mainland Group and returned $3.2 billion to shareholders and unit holders. This marked a significant step in the delivery of our strategy, with the Co-operative firmly focused on growing our high-value Ingredients and Foodservice businesses.

“We advanced work on our new $35 million pastry butter sheet capacity at Edgecumbe, reached product validation stage on our $75 million Studholme protein hub, and made good progress on our $75 million butter expansion at Clandeboye and $150 million UHT cream build at Edendale.

“I’m also pleased to announce that we’ll be progressing with the planned expansion of our organic business into the South Island, following strong interest from farmers wanting to join our successful organic programme.

“Our forecast Organic Milk Price range for the current season is $13.90 – $14.10 per kgMS, with a record midpoint of $14.00 per kgMS. Our opening forecast for the 2026/27 season is $13.00 – $15.00 per kgMS, also with a $14.00 per kgMS midpoint, reflecting the value customers see in our organic farmers’ milk.  

“These initiatives all reflect real momentum in the Co-op’s performance as we head into the final quarter of the financial year.”

Outlook

“Looking ahead, Fonterra has strong foundations and a clear strategy to deliver value through our global Ingredients and Foodservice businesses,” says Mr Allen.

“Our full year earnings guidance reflects the strong shipment volumes expected in the final quarter of the year.

“However, we acknowledge the uncertainty caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Like our farmers, and others around the world, we are experiencing cost inflation and shipping disruptions.

“We are confident that our deep relationships with customers and logistics partners will continue to help us navigate these challenges.”

Notes

Underlying earnings: Adjusted for Mainland Group's result to reflect the Co-operative's underlying business.

Non-GAAP financial information  

Fonterra uses several non-GAAP measures when discussing financial performance. Non-GAAP measures are not defined or specified by NZ IFRS.    

Management believes that these measures provide useful information as they provide valuable insight on the underlying performance of the business. They may be used internally to evaluate the underlying performance of business units and to analyse trends. These measures are not uniformly defined or utilised by all companies. Accordingly, these measures may not be comparable with similarly titled measures used by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be viewed in isolation nor considered as a substitute for measures reported in accordance with NZ IFRS.  

Non-GAAP measures are not subject to audit unless they are included in Fonterra’s audited annual financial statements.

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DRC: One in four confirmed Ebola deaths are children underscoring the urgent need to protect them – Save the Children

Source: Save the Children

At least 25% of confirmed deaths from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are children, highlighting the urgent need to scale up health services and infection prevention to protect children, said Save the Children [1].
Latest government figures released on Wednesday show that children make up 25% of the 17 confirmed Ebola deaths – although the number of real cases is likely to be significantly higher as this number only includes children under 15, and only includes confirmed cases. Of these deaths, 14% are children under the age of 5.
Some 1,077 people are now suspected of contracting Ebola with 238 suspected deaths since the outbreak was declared on 15 May, with children and youth under the age of 19 accounting for 17 out of 121 confirmed cases of Ebola, or 14%.
This number of suspected cases is already over one third of all confirmed cases reported in the largest Ebola epidemic in the DRC in recent history, in which there were 3,262 confirmed cases and 2,232 deaths, 28% of which were children.
While the outbreak was declared 11 days ago, the number of deaths and infections is feared to be much higher, with the probable first or index case most likely to have been in the first few months of the year, adding to concerns about prolonged undetected transmission in the community.
Children are among the most vulnerable group in this outbreak, said Save the Children. As well as being exposed to the direct risk of infection, they face major indirect consequences such as disruptions of essential health and nutrition services, loss of parents and caregivers, loss of access to schools, stigma, psychosocial distress, and increased protection risks.
Children are particularly vulnerable if they lose one of both of their parents or primary caregivers to the illness, with Save the Children child protection staff already reporting at least two children who have lost their parents to Ebola and requiring urgent care support.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, or indirect through contaminated materials, or infected surfaces. Its symptoms include fever, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and, in severe cases, bleeding.
The current Ebola outbreak is yet another crisis to hit DRC which has seen a sharp uptick this year in conflict, creating one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises with 5.6 million people including about 2.5 million children internally displacedwhile 15 million people – almost one in every seven people – need humanitarian assistance.
Dr Babou Rukengeza, Save the Children’s Ebola Response Lead in the DRC, said:
“This outbreak is moving at a terrifying speed. I have responded to several Ebola outbreaks over the years, but this is the fastest spread I have ever seen. Children are paying a devastating price, making up at least one in four confirmed deaths, although we suspected the numbers are far higher.
“When parents die, children suddenly lose the biggest support system they could possibly have and face fear, grief, stigma, and social exclusion.
“In addition, this crisis is unfolding at a critical moment when children are preparing for their end-of-year exams, threatening not only their health but also their future.
“A rapid, well-funded, and coordinated response is essential to stop the spread of Ebola, maintain essential services, and ensure that children remain safe, protected, and able to continue learning throughout the outbreak.
“We need urgent action and immediate flexible funding to scale up the health response and strengthen infection prevention and control, while ensuring children and families can access protection, education and essential services to save lives and reduce the long-term impact on communities.”
Save the Children has provided chlorine to the health authorities in Bunia for facility decontamination and therapeutic milk to a centre for malnourished children and breastfeeding mothers suspected of having the Ebola virus.
The aid agency is also racing to equip health facilities with personal protective equipment, triage units and infection prevention and handwashing infrastructure while supporting active case detection and contact tracing in communities and health facilities. This includes training community health workers and teachers on virus detection and referral and providing emergency hygiene kits and thermometers.
Save the Children started working in DRC in 1994 and currently collaborates with 13 local partners, alongside international organisations and government authorities, to provide life-saving support in health, nutrition, education, child protection, food security, and water, sanitation, and hygiene for children and their families.
Notes:
[1] According to latest data from the DRC’s Ministry of Health, released Wednesday 27 May with data up to Tuesday 26 May, [SitRep No. 12], there are 121 confirmed cases, 17 death confirmed, 1077 suspected cases, 238 suspected deaths. On page 3, there is a graph indicating 25% of confirmed deaths are children under 15, and 17 cases are children and youth under the age of 19.