Government accounts better than forecast

Thursday, 22 January 2026

There is a ray of sunshine in the Government’s monthly accounts.

The country’s fiscal worries have eased slightly, with the Government’s accounts for November coming in better than forecast.

The Government’s operating (Obegal) deficit totalled just under $5.9 billion for the five months to the end of November, about $1.1b lower than had been forecast by Treasury when it released its Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update in December.

Net core Crown debt stood at just over $183b, or 41.6% of GDP, $893m lower than forecast.

The Treasury described the accounts as favourable, overall, compared to forecast.

Tax revenues for the first five months of the year were $214m lower than had been expected in December due to slightly lower-than-forecast company tax and GST receipts, but core Crown expenses were $867m lower than the Treasury had predicted.

The Treasury said health service expenses were about $200m lower than forecast due to less spending than had been expected on community and residential-based support services.