Oliver Hartwich: NZ Initiative Executive Director on ACT's policy manifesto

About this episode

Most voters have not realised how difficult New Zealand's fiscal predicament is, says a think tank boss. New Zealand Initiative executive director Oliver Hartwich said the ACT Party's manifesto shows it is the "most radical" about getting government spending to 2017 levels. Released yesterday, the manifesto pledged to cut "wasteful spending" by $22 billion over four years, getting debt $12.4b lower by 2031 than currently forecast. Hartwich told Ryan Bridge that the plan was different from what other parties were offering. Nine years ago, 28.5% of GDP was spent by the Government, but currently the figure sits at nearly 33%, he said. "I think that a lot of this extra government spending has…