Budget 2026 w/ the National Party's Ryan Hamilton: 2 June, 2026

Last week, the government announced the 2026 Budget. Predictably focused on saving money and reducing the government deficit, the Budget does see some key areas for funding. Health, while receiving a large chunk of funding, still has looming concerns around staffing, operating costs, and whether this increased funding will make a difference for the struggling sector. The Military and Tertiary education have also seen critical allocation choices that have caused discussion in the days since, with uproar from students following the removal of fees free and raised fees despite an increase in funding, and Defence spending being a big winner.

The budget also saw comments made by Finance Minister Nicola Willis about superannuation, saying that it was time for political parties and the government to consider superannuation’s cost on the New Zealand taxpayer, which has signalled some disagreement with NZ First and Labour.

This week, Host Alex spoke with National MP Ryan Hamilton about these budget related topics, beginning with health funding allocation.