Minor parties steal spotlight from Nicola Willis’ Budget

Source: Radio New Zealand

Analysis – Much like every other political party in Parliament, New Zealand First isn’t really planning to use taxpayer money to buy back BNZ.

The idea is a bold and bizarre one given the potential price tag of anywhere between $7 billion and $30b, depending on who you believe.

Winston Peters himself couldn’t say what it would cost when asked on Morning Report on Monday, but he doesn’t need to.

Be under no illusions: this is not a make-or-break policy for New Zealand First, and it won’t be an election bottom line.

The country has been feeling the effects of a cost-of-living crisis since late 2021 and for many it hasn’t got any better. For plenty, it’s got worse.

Add to that an international fuel crisis, business confidence tanking, and inflation struggling to get back into the desired 1 to 3 percent bracket.

There isn’t a political leader who would realistically prioritise spending billions of dollars to buy back an Australian Bank at this point in time, or anytime in the near future.

What New Zealand First set out to achieve at the weekend was much simpler than spending billions of dollars buying the country an expensive and potentially out-of-reach bank.

The clue is in its name – putting New Zealand First – and reminding voters less than six months out from an election that the party that believes in nationalism, “taking back our country”, and holding onto state assets isn’t National, nor is it ACT.

Peters is the political leader who has spent the past 33 years reusing large sections of the same speech at his public meetings where he talks about New Zealanders keeping more of their own money, profits not going overseas, and state-owned assets staying that – state-owned.

It’s all part of a wider strategy of getting everybody else to spend their time talking about New Zealand First.

It’s one Peters, for decades, has mastered far better than any other politician, and MPs new to politics, like the Prime Minister, time and time again fall into his trap.

Responding to these sorts of policies is exactly what Peters wants, and day after day Luxon, and a string of other National Party ministers and MPs, have done exactly that – for five straight days.

There have been stories ad nauseam about coalition partners and the opposition parties pooh-poohing the idea, never mind the economists, columnists and experts commenting and writing endless paragraphs about it.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told media it was “attention-seeking” and not serious policy.

Willis has a point – Peters sought to get attention, but it’s his coalition partner who took the bait most of all.

New Zealand First has had a successful week notching up wins between the BNZ narrative taking flight exactly as planned, and convincing Willis to exempt his pet ministry – foreign affairs and trade – from her cost-cutting public service exercise for a third year running.

ACT has had its win too, with the public service cuts being centred on a head count reduction and department mergers – two ideas straight out of the party’s policy playbook making it easy for David Seymour to claim victory on saving the Budget for two years running.

The Budget is the pride and joy of any finance minister and the product of a lot of hard work, sleepless nights, sweat and at times, probably tears.

Thursday will be Willis’ day to shine and the National Party will hog most of the spotlight for that reason.

The week leading up to Budget Day has been all about New Zealand First and ACT.

Willis has seven days to wrestle the attention back.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/minor-parties-steal-spotlight-from-nicola-willis-budget/