Ryan Bridge: The treasury boss' truth bomb

As we squabble over toast for new mums in hospitals and funding for street dance performers in Auckland, we are penny pinching a lot lately, aren't we?

We're bickering about all sorts of things, should nurses be getting the free toast in the smoko room if they're doing a night shift?

The insignificance of all of these debates is being laid bare this morning. There's an article in the Herald, it's a bit of a truth bomb from the Treasury boss.

She's leaving the job, the data is not really new, but the way that she is speaking so openly and frankly is quite new.

Her name is Dr Caralee McLiesh. You probably don't know her name, she doesn't do many interviews, she doesn't want to be in the press. She's Australian, she's apolitical, and her five year term coming to an end. She's actually going back to Australia to be the auditor general over there.

So, what has she said?

Well, she said the chickens are coming home to roost after covid, we have a structural deficit and it is so bad that the penny pinching or the pinching pennies, whatever you want to call it, is just not going to cut it.

"Significance concerns about underlying fiscal sustainability of our operating model" she says.

Our net core crown debt is at 43% of GDP. Yes, that is still within a prudent level, but it is well up on the sub 20% of pre covid.

This is the problem.

And so what do we need? She says capital gains tax, more comprehensive than the one we've got, and a change to the pension age.

Boy, did we screw the pooch during COVID, right?

Everyone said, oh, don't worry, we're going to spend all this money so we don't have a recession, but we've still had recessions.

So it doesn't really matter how much penny pinching, though, we still need the penny pinching.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
As we squabble over toast for new mums in hospitals
and funding for street dance performers in Auckland. As we
pinch our pennies, pinch our pennies, as we pinch our pennies,
we are penny pinching a lot lately, aren't we. We're

(00:20):
bickering about all sorts of things. You know, should nurses
be getting the free toast in the smokeoe room if
they're doing a night shift. The insignificance of all of
these debates is being laid bare this morning. There's an
article in the Heel which is quite good. It's a
bit of a truth bomb from the Treasury boss. So
this is what she has said. She's leaving the job.

(00:41):
By the way, the data is not really new, but
the way that she is speaking so openly and frankly
is quite new. Her name's Carolle Mcles. You probably don't
know her name. She doesn't do many interviews. She doesn't
want to be in the press. She's Australian, she's apolitical.
She's five year term coming to an end. She's actually
going back to Australia to be the Attorney general over there.

(01:04):
Forgive me the order to general over there. So what
if she said, Well, she said, the chickens are coming
home to roost after COVID. We have a structural deficit
and it is so bad that the penny pinching or
the pinching pennies, whatever you want to call it, is
just not going to cut it. Here's a quote from
her significance concerns about underlying fiscal sustainability of our operating model. Now,

(01:29):
our netcore crown debt is at forty three percent of GDP. Yes,
that is still within a prudent level, but it is
well up on the sub twenty percent of pre COVID.
This is the problem, and so what do we need?
She says, capital gains tax more comprehensive than the one
we've got, and a change to the pension age. Boy,

(01:51):
did we screw the pooch during COVID, right, And everyone said, oh,
don't worry, we're going to spend all this money so
we don't have a recession. But we've still had recessions,
so it doesn't really matter how much penny pinching though,
we still need the penny pinching. For more from News
Talk set B listen live on air or online and
keep our shows with you wherever you go with our

(02:12):
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