Budget 2026 about getting the books in order

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will deliver the Budget on Thursday. Photo: RNZ Gyles Beckford of RNZ The government's 2026 budget is about getting the books in orderThe Middle East conflict is clouding economy, forecasts, income, spendingHigher deficit expected in near term, no surplus until 2030Spending to be constrained and reprioritised, new policy finance negligibleAs much as $10b extra borrowing expectedThe length of the Iran conflict may result in radical rewrite of forecasts/policies in pre-election fiscal update Government budgets invariably get branded - the Black budget of 1958, the Mother of All Budgets in 1991, the Wellbeing Budget of 2019.