4:50 am today
Nicola Willis with Budget 2026.
Analysis - Trying to please everyone will prove a near-impossible task for Finance Minister Nicola Willis when she delivers her third Budget on Thursday.
The government's finances, which had only just been starting to show signs of improving last year, have now been battered by an economy weakened by the fuel crisis.
A small, targeted election-year Budget surprise aimed at helping Kiwis tackle the cost of living isn't out of the question, given some fiscal headroom will have been created by reprioritising spending and cuts to the public service.
