Editorial: Has the boom made you better off? - The Dominion Post

These are the boom times in New Zealand, but it's not much of a boom. In the Government's first years in office, it faced a double-dip recession, partly precipitated by the global financial crisis, and partly by factors more particular to New Zealand. But despite the "rock star" talk and despite a period of extraordinarily high dairy prices, faded for now, the recovery is only so strong. After a peak of 3. 3 per cent, growth will tail off somewhat to an average of 2. 8 per cent for the next four years, the Treasury predicts. One of the wages of the subdued recovery is the disappeared surplus, which is now barely scheduled to arrive next year – if commodity prices don't sufficiently rise, the Treasury warns it could yet be delayed to 2018. In that case, English would... Pushing out the deadline for a year or even two won't dent his reputation for prudent bookkeeping much, but any longer – into an election campaign, say – and it will start to look like a mirage. For instance, English's decision to cease contributions to the Super Fund was all about the Government's bottom line, but now, after years of high returns and cheap debt, it looks a deeply short-sighted decision. Source: www.stuff.co.nz