The better than forecast recovery our economy has seen means Labour must immediately chart a path back to sustainable levels of debt, National’s Finance spokesperson Michael Woodhouse says.

After seeing a record drop in GDP in the last quarter, it makes sense for this quarter to see a significant increase.

“The strong bounce back in economic activity is positive news for New Zealand taxpayers as Finance Minister Grant Robertson now has no excuses for continuing to borrow up large,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“Grant Robertson needs to quickly lay out a path back to surplus and a plan to make sure our debt levels are brought back down to sustainable levels as soon as possible.

“We’ve raided the rainy day fund to weather this economic crisis but now that the economy is recovering it’s time for a sensible plan to pay down debt so we are ready when the next economic shock arrives.

“This is what National did after the GFC, which is why we are in a strong position to get through this crisis.

“The Government must do the same thing now. Labour cannot use the pandemic as an excuse to borrow excessively or ramp up spending on ideological measures that don’t support growth or improved living standards.

“Saddling our future generations with more debt than absolutely necessary is irresponsible and economically reckless.”