National plays it safe with fiscal plan, but undermines transparency by not having numbers vetted

Analysis byPolitical Editor·NZ Herald·12 Oct, 2026 05:12 PM7 mins to readThomas Coughlan, Political Editor at the New Zealand Herald, loves applying a political lens to people's stories and explaining the way things like transport and finance touch our lives. ‌National took a no-surprises approach to its fiscal plan, released on Monday. As promised, it sticks to the very tight $2.4 billion a year operating allowance – the “new” money to pay for public service cost inflation. A 2024 Treasury estimate had put the cost of standing still at about