Kris Faafoi: Budget week inside the Beehive

Tuesday, 16 May 2023

Finance Minister Grant Robertson goes through another of the Budget rituals in 2021 – posing with a copy of the Budget document for a news media photo opportunity.

Kris Faafoi is a government and public relations specialist; a former Labour member of Parliament and a former Cabinet minister; and a former Press Gallery journalist. He is a regular opinion contributor to Stuff.

OPINION: If you’re in the know, Budget week can be a bit odd.

Ministers have usually known for several weeks the content of the Minister of Finance’s plan to spend (or appropriate to the Treasury boffins) tax revenue.

As we have seen in the last few weeks, the relentless attempts by the Fourth Estate to get the faintest of sniffs of what is in the Budget has become an endurance sport. For ministers, the discipline required to stay schtum is career critical. It’s a test of one’s ability to hold the line.

* PM Chris Hipkins holds post-Cabinet briefing ahead of Budget day

Kelvin Davis and Jacinda Ardern congratulate Finance Minister Grant Robertson after his delivery of the 2019 Budget in Parliament.

* 300 more classrooms funded in pre-Budget announcement

As a minister, if the MoF (Minister of Finance) has looked positively upon your core budget bids, then the day is one of expectant joy (and relief), as the staying schtum finally comes to an end.

If one’s bids were not as successful, the impending disappointment of hopeful sectors is something to manage and to put into the context of decisions that have been made.

As we have seen, the decks are cleared of significant decisions in pre-Budget announcements, leaving the biggest-ticket items for Budget day itself, with the PM, the MoF, associate MoFs and a small number of ministers at the heart of proceedings.

If you aren’t in that small group, then the expectation is that you keep a low profile for the day to ensure the central narrative of the Budget is told.

Such is the high stakes nature of Budgets. Especially in election year.

For some time now the framing of a Budget has become what rugby coaches would call a “key match-up”.

We’ve had the “block of cheese” Budget, the “chewing gum” Budget, and the “back in black” Budget, to name a few.

This year, quite cleverly, the Prime Minister has pre-framed it as “no frills”.

Key ministers and officials are on hand as Grant Robertson delivers his Budget speech to the privileged group who gain a preview of the Government’s plans in the Budget day lock-up.

Having experienced being in Opposition for a few years, I know that from that side of the House, a lot of effort will go into creating a one-line moniker designed to scupper the Government’s day.

Let’s be clear. Kiwis don’t religiously follow Budget day like they used to. For those outside the beltway, all they might hear is this moniker.

How does the government Budget work and what does that mean for you?

So for the Opposition, that Budget-framing is the moon shot. If it sticks, one clever line can undo months of Government toil. Although it’s very rare that they do – it’s usually the headline writers in the nation’s newspapers who decide that framing.

Of course, the outside world wants to know what’s in the Budget. It’s important to know about the future of programmes, projects and people.

This year, with the cost of living looming large over the economy and Kiwi families, precisely what is in store from the Government is important pre-election stuff.

Other than the Budgets in the eye of the Covid crisis, this week’s feels like one of the most critical in recent years. No pressure.

Kris Faafoi: Having experienced being in Opposition for a few years, I know that from that side of the House, a lot of effort will go into creating a one-line moniker designed to scupper the Government’s day.

Away from the seriousness and high-octane activity, there are also many Budget day customs that might be fluff, but are worthy of note.

The Budget day tie is now a longstanding tradition. The MoF is obviously the most high-profile of participants. The fundamentals are simple. Stick to your tribe’s political colours, make sure you get some coverage out of it, and see it as an opportunity to look happy when deep down inside you’re desperately hoping the rest of the day goes well.

More recently, the Budget day pie has also become tradition. All eyes this year will be on whether the Hipkins-era will take a slightly different path.

Will he go for the pie? Will he go for the sausage roll? I’ve watched the pre-Budget press conferences closely and am surprised this question seems to have gone unasked to this point. Perhaps it doesn’t pass the crucial journalism test of “who cares?”.

The other Budget day quirk is the often talked about “lock-up”. Yes, in this era of connectedness and technology, a select group of the country’s sector leaders, media, politicians and other busybodies are relieved of their devices and sworn to unhitch themselves from wi-fi coverage for the privilege of embargoed early access to the Budget documents.

This is not new. Aside from the press gallery’s annual assessment of the lock-up catering (which might be bordering on crass given the current times), what is always entertaining to witness is the sudden release of these privileged participants and their post lock-up haste.

It manifests itself in running (or the awkward “I’m not running, I’m fast-walking”) in a place where there is very rarely running. Also amusing to witness is the “I know something you don’t know” facial expressions of those who have been “locked-up”. This behaviour requires a David Attenborough commentary to be fully appreciated.

I have experienced this myself as a journalist (I did not run – as a wise man said, “there is no dignity in haste”); also as an Opposition MP (our monikers didn’t stick); and chuckled at it as a minister with a slightly more enjoyable “I have known for weeks about the information you now know about” grin.

The latter was the most enjoyable.

At the end of the day, though, it’s all just theatre. At 2pm on Thursday we’ll all be in the know. And you can make up your own moniker.