Budget 09: Budget promises to improve productivity, remove road blocks

Finance Minister Bill English. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The budget has promised to improve productivity and remove road blocks to business.

There were no major tax cuts or subsidies for business apart from $190 million over four years for a new primary growth partnership to invest in primary sector innovation and $40m over four years for the Crown Research Institute Capability Fund.

Rather, Finance Minister Bill English said the budget was designed to boost economic growth, to provide an environment in which business could thrive.

Investment in infrastructure would focus on increasing productivity and a thorough regulatory review was under way.

"A lot of the stuff is not glamorous but it is vital," Mr English said.

"The thing with productivity is there isn't a silver bullet," he said.

To improve productivity of the economy, the Government wanted to improve the productivity of the public sector.

It was also addressing educational under-achievement, increasing government investment in infrastructure and removing road blocks to growth by improving the regulatory environment.

"Investment is being made despite the downturn. It is indicative of the Government's determination to emerge with a strengthened economy," the budget documents said.

The documents included $90m of operational support for KiwiRail. The total $258m of rail funding included $115m to fund the purchase of 20 new locomotives and to provide working capital, which had previously been announced.

Click here for the Budget documents

The Government has committed $1.5 billion to accelerate the rollout of ultrafast broadband. Total spending on roads in the next decade is $10.7b.

- NZPA