Labour says weak GDP shows ‘an economy going nowhere’

Thursday, 19 March 2026

Labour finance and economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds says the latest GDP numbers show the economy is a long way from recovery.

New data from Stats NZ showed in the final quarter of last year the economy grew only 0.2% and 1.3% overall in 2025.

That put economic growth on a par with Europe, but significantly behind Australia, which experienced 2.6% growth last year.

Edmonds said the growth number showed “an economy going nowhere”.

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“Growth of 0.2% is a long way from the ‘recovery’ Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis keep talking about.

“For 32,000 people out of work, 2000 leaving every week, and families struggling to get by, those claims ring hollow.”

Edmonds said the Government had left New Zealand weaker and more exposed to global shocks.

“Let’s be clear, what we’re going through now would be easier to deal with for families if National hadn’t made things much worse.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the data confirmed the economy was growing at the end of last year.

“While GDP data was volatile throughout 2025, the New Zealand economy picked up noticeably in the second half of the year, growing 1.1% over the final six months after being relatively flat over the first half of the year.”

Willis said before the conflict in Iran economic forecasters had predicted growth to continue and strengthen this year.

“The conflict will have an impact on the economy, but we are starting from a much stronger position now than was the case in the past few years, when high inflation and high interest rates were weighing down on people.

“The full impact of the conflict will depend on the severity of the disruptions and how long they last, but realistic scenarios have so far shown growth continuing in 2026.”

Taxpayers Union spokesperson James Ross said while the next quarter’s GDP numbers were likely to be positive beyond that the New Zealand economy was facing “massive headwinds”.

“The conflict in Iran looks to be going nowhere any time soon, pushing up oil prices, fuelling inflation, lifting interest rates, and ultimately dampening growth.”