New Zealand govt's accounts reflect careful economic management: minister

WELLINGTON - The better-than-expected Crown accounts released on Tuesday showed the government's careful management of the COVID-19 health crisis was the right approach to support the economy, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Grant Robertson.

As expected, the Crown accounts for the year to June 2020 show the operating balance before gains and losses, or OBEGAL, was in deficit. However, that result was 5.2 billion NZ dollars (3.6 billion U.S. dollars) better than the Treasury forecast in Budget 2020, due to a stronger-than-expected economy and careful management of government spending, Robertson said in a statement.

Core Crown tax revenue of 85.1 billion NZ dollars (59.3 billion U.S. dollars) was 2.8 billion NZ dollars higher than forecast in the budget. This also reflects the stronger economy as New Zealand got on top of COVID-19 quickly and opened up the economy to give the recovery a head start, he said.

"The government's decision to act swiftly when COVID-19 was taking hold overseas has meant New Zealand's economy has bounced back better than the Treasury and many economists predicted," he added.

Net core Crown debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) was 27 percent of GDP at June 30, below the 30.2 percent forecast in the May Budget, said the statement.