Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the government has delivered a Budget that will give people certainty in uncertain times.
Speaking from isolation, Ardern has told the House the government is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, its resulting economic shocks and now the war in Ukraine.
Ardern says the government's Budget will "deal with the immediacy of economic and health challenges Kiwis are facing".
"We'll also look into the challenges of tomorrow in seeking to buffer our people from both. It is an approach that, as always, is focused on people," she says.
The Budget includes a surprise sweetener in the form of a temporary $27 dollar a week payment.
New Zealanders earning up to 70,000 dollars a year, who are not already receiving the Winter Energy Payment, will be eligible.
However, addressing media this afternoon the National Party says the Budget does little to address the cost of living.
Party leader Christopher Luxon says the payment will do little if inflation and food prices continue to rise.
"The government's response is a band-aided solution of a cost-of-living payment that fundamentally is available for three months and yet the Treasury forecast we just saw today actually has inflation being not back to within the 3 percent band until 2025."
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