A Hacking Cough

As long as our leaders keep releasing their budgets on the day that is named after the Greek God of Thunder, I guess they will have to expect a stormy reception.

This year's budget was subjected to a much more windy response than normal with much of it typically emanating from the lower regions.

Before it even saw the light of day, we had the hacking fiasco which was actually nothing more than a very tiny storm in a very tiny teacup that was being vigorously stirred by an even tinier pixie by the name of Simon. His playground antics reached a new low, even for him.

Miffed by the fact that he couldn't get a single column inch of good publicity for himself due to the stellar performance of PM Sindy, he has been desperately trying to get some attention by whatever cockamamie method he can dream up.

His recent attempt to gain headlines over an allegedly rising crime rate was totally refuted just days after he made his big "reveal" by former Natzi Party Minister for Courts Chezza Borrows who is now the chair of the Justice Reform Group. This obviously left him with egg on his little pixie face, so he sent out some of his grovelling wee yes men and women to see if they could uncover some dirt from the budgie before it was released from its (apparently none-too secure) cage.

To cut a long non-story short, the Chief nitwit at Treasury sprang into action and called the cops without really knowing what for. They looked into the situation and, realising that it was nothing more than a failed and very amateur attempt to find some dirt decided that their energies would be better put to use hunting down murderers and rapists. The Pixie who was still desperately trying to hog the headlines then declared in truly Trump like fashion that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing and branded the Minister of Finance a liar.

Higher Perches

When the budget was released it became apparent that it was unlike any that had preceded it. It was called the "Wellbeing Budget" which almost nobody understood before it was released and many still don't seem to understand.

We should not be too surprised by this different approach to a budget though, because this Coalition Government has operated in a markedly different way to all of its predecessors.

I believe the budget has been accurately named and thoughtfully constructed. It delivers on the things it is designed to deliver on.

Of course there has been a lot of criticism as there always is around budgets but much of it is ill-informed and even more springs from an inability to understand that this budget was never meant to be like any other before it. It was explained shortly after the Government took office that they would be producing a Wellbeing Budget during their term of office, and like most of the things that PM Sindy promised, this too has come to pass.

The most strident criticism of all has been delivered in truly schoolyard fashion by the little pixie who declared, "This Budget shows the Government still has no plan to grow the economy," which shows he doesn't understand what this budget is about, despite the massive clue in its name.

It is primarily about things such as mental health and social support services that, if funded better and organised better, will improve the ability of people to cope with life and ultimately become more productive as a result.

What About Me?

Another constant refrain since the budget was released has come from (mainly) middle (class) Kiwis who have asked what the budget has for them and some of the usual rich listers whining that it does nothing for them.

Hello? It wasn't supposed to deliver a lot for you. It is about trying to close the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. We won't be able to close that if every time we help out those at the bottom of the heap, we feel it necessary to dollop out some more to those at the top or even the middle. All that is going to do is preserve the status quo.

This "What about me" refrain speaks volumes about what is wrong with Kiwis. Why not stop trying to feather our own nests and take some time to help those among us who are much less fortunate than ourselves. Let's ditch the selfish interests and show some genuine compassion for a change.

A Load Of Pixie Dust

Others have said the budget doesn't go far enough and the pixie said, "Under this Government there are 13,000 more people on welfare, the time it takes to get into social housing has doubled, people are missing out on elective surgeries, rents are up an average of $50 a week, hardship assistance has increased by $48 million in the past year, there were an extra 70,000 requests for assistance for food in the last year alone and there is more strike action than we've seen in decades," all of which blissfully overlooks the fact that this Government has only been in office for 18 months. It also implies that the voters will not be able to remember whose Government was in power for three terms prior to now.

Nobody in this Government is claiming that this budget is a total fix for everything that is wrong with our country. There is far too much that has been far too wrong for far too long for that. But what it does do is start to take into account more than just economic growth and that can't be a bad thing.

This budget is a bold budget, seeking to go places that none before have dared to tread. Previous Governments have focused on nothing but economic growth for decades and look where it has got us.