UpdatedKatie Bradford Senior Correspondent ·NZ Herald·24 Jun, 2026 08:00 PM5 mins to read‌Parliamentary Budget Officer Sam Reinhardt talks about Australia's independent costings unit. Video / NZ HeraldAnother election year, another round of endless debates about fiscal holes, yawning gaps and whether the numbers add up.Rinse, repeat.The debate kicked off early this year, with National’s Finance Minister accusing Labour’s policies of not adding up.

Nicola Willis then produced a 10-point report, labelled Labour’s Hidden Bill,