This is edition 2026/095 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Hi all,
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
1. NEW REPORT: Wellbeing Budget 2026 - The $13.5 Billion Lost Surplus - Taxpayers' Union
Taxpayers' Union
- 📊 The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union claims that if spending had stayed at Jacinda Ardern’s 2019 Wellbeing Budget levels (adjusted for growth), NZ would have a $13.5B surplus by 2026/27
- 💬 Executive Director Jordan Williams argues the country could already be back in surplus, contradicting political claims that surplus is years away
- 🔄 The analysis reframes the 2019 budget—once criticised as excessive—as modest compared to today’s higher government spending
- 🦠 While COVID-era deficits are acknowledged as justified, the report argues ongoing high spending reflects a permanent expansion of government rather than temporary necessity
- 🧾 The group calls for a return to 2019 spending levels, branding it “Make Wellbeing Great Again” as a path to immediate fiscal balance
- 🏛️ Nicola Willis is criticised for maintaining elevated spending, effectively treating pandemic-era budgets as the baseline
- 💰 The report projects cumulative surpluses of $83.8B by 2030 under this approach, equating to about $49,366 per household
- 📉 Reduced government debt under this model would also lower long-term interest costs
- ⚖️ The Taxpayers’ Union argues that returning to surplus does not require “austerity,” but instead political will to restrain spending
- 🔍 Budget 2026 is framed as a critical test of whether the government will follow through on promises of fiscal discipline and a smaller state
