The 2013 New Zealad Budget

The Good 

$23b for welfare

Yes, this is good news, if it goes the those who need it. Is there room for training, perhaps?

$2.6b improving housing

Much of New Zealand's housing stock is below WHO standards, Insulating, and perhaps installing solar energy collection, even if it fed straight in to the grid to offset grid power consumption without a massive battery store , it would be good value to low income and state house occupants.

The Bad

$0 for Child poverty

Showing again, the classic disinterest of the anti-human National Party agenda in the suffering of New Zealand's most vulnerable.

Meridian Energy to be up for grabs

Selling us our assets and letting institutional investors buy them back from us before flicking them onto to overseas investors, and all the while pushing power prices up to feed the (money) hungry stockholders. Why do we fall for it?

3000 state housing evictions

This is no more than ideological bullying of the poor. And perhaps a nod to landlords hoping to get a hold of Accommodation supplement payments though low income renters. These renters will find themselves struggling in the private market, and eventually homeless and back inline for social housing. It is bad sociologically, bad for landlords.

The Ugly

$1.6b for Health

The health sector has been under funded by successive governments for decades, but this may not actually help much as this government has made the health sector liable for more cost ancillary costs. And resulted pressure applied to community primary care providers that would see a 40% reduction in funding.

$158m tourism

Cash for the boys perhaps, and perhaps a nudge for the boys at SkyCity Casino chasing chinese "whales".

$1.7b "future fund" $80m irrigation? KiwiRail, CHCH & schools

This government wants to flog off KiwiRail again, but it is in such poor shape investors can see the rust in the wheel well and bog in the body work.
Just what role government should have in improving the capital value of privately owned farms is anyone's guess.
The Christchurch rebuild just keeps inflating, it could almost be mistaken for the F-35 white elephant which is expected to cost US$1t after originally being costed at around US$280b.

$75m surplus

Woop-dee-doo New Zealand growth is half the average for the OECD. And this only the goverment's books. The private sector is still in the hole.

$300m reduce in ACC

This has been made possible on the backs of people like Bronwyn Pullar. People who have had accidents, need continuing rehabilitation, but instead are accused of fraud and in Bronwyn case, blackmail. Her only small consolation is that revelations on the part of ACC led to heads rolling. But the doctor shopping still seems to be an issue.
At least for now, ACC is not up for privatization.

$80m for education($63m for behavioural programmes)

Perhaps also $40m so charter schools can steal gifted and well supported students.

$100m added law and order, now $3.9b

Police crime stats are falling, but retention of staff is a problem when there are no pay rises. Are the cops gonna get paid what they are worth, or will the have to continue to scrounge half priced burgers from McDonald's?