By Mickysavage

Copyright thestandard

Remember back to the beginning of the year when Christopher Luxon said that 2025 would bring a relentless focus on unleashing growth?

He said this at the time:

“Business and consumer confidence is rising and average mortgage interest rates have now fallen for the first time in more than three years. Wages are rising faster than inflation, supporting a recovery in household incomes. Growth is also expected to resume, reaching 2.1 per cent in 2025 according to Treasury’s latest forecasts in the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update.

“We need to act now to strengthen growth and productivity – both in the very near term and over the years to come.

Fast forward to yesterday and the news was all bad. GDP growth dropped by 0.9% for the latest quarter and is so far -1.1% for the year.

Nicola Willis attempted this morning to say that things were either fine or the fault of America. Relying on the opinions of unidentified investors she said that investment appetite was strong. She cited getting rid of red tape and education reform as things that are helping.

She complained about the tariff announcement and noted it happened on the second day of the latest quarter. She refused to mention previous tariff announcements by the Trump administration or that everyone knew that a tarrif was inevitable.

The drum beats are loud.

Roger Douglas and Matthew Hooton have criticised Willis with Hooton noting that the economy is smaller than when National took office.

Who would have thought that deep cuts to the public service, the savaging of the Kainga Ora build program and the wholesale cancellation of projects would have caused such an adverse economic effect?

National need to wear this. And Willis’s tenure as Finance Minister is tenuous. Further GDP shrinkage may end her career.