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At a press conference on Monday, Finance Minister Nicola Willis framed today’s Budget as “unashamedly... for the frontline”.
“Instead of being a confetti of new spending ideas, you’ll
also see examples of careful reprioritisation in almost every area of government,” Willis said. “Together, our savings exercise has freed up considerable cash and, as promised, some of this will go to support tax relief.”
That “savings exercise” has seen more than 3000 public sector jobs axed, with more to come. Willis also said on Monday that at least 240 public sector programmes would be scaled down or scrapped altogether in the Budget.