Goals and priorities
The Government's overarching goals for its term of office are to:
- Build a stronger, more productive economy that lifts real incomes and increases opportunities for New Zealanders.
- Deliver more efficient, effective and responsive public services to all who need and use them - in particular, to restore law and order and improve health outcomes and educational achievement.
- Get the Government's books back in order and restore discipline to public spending.
These goals will guide the Government's Budget decisions. They are also the Government's wellbeing objectives, as achieving them is the most important contribution the Government can make to the long-term social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of New Zealanders.
The Government has identified the following policy areas it will focus on in Budget 2025:
- Lifting economic growth through measures to address New Zealand's long-term productivity challenges.
- Implementing a social investment approach to drive better results from the Government’s investment in social services and thereby improve life outcomes for people with high needs.
- Keeping tight control of government spending while funding a limited number of high-priority Government policy commitments and cost pressures that cannot be met from reprioritisation.
- Developing a sustainable pipeline of long-term infrastructure investments.