New govt mini-budget to be released before Christmas - Willis

The new Government's pre-Christmas "mini-budget" will have an "emphasis on the word mini," according to incoming finance minister Nicola Willis.

Willis, who will soon take ministerial reins along with colleagues, has now received briefings from Treasury officials about the state of the country's books.

The new finance minister told Q+A that the incoming National-led Government was still determined to set an agenda and priorities for spending in the next few weeks.

It comes after a whirlwind week where National announced a deal with coalition partners ACT and New Zealand First to form the next government.

Willis said she would time the mini-budget to happen at the same time as when Treasury officials usually open the books at the end of a calendar year — the annual Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update.

"We're going to turn that into a mini-budget, and that will be before Christmas."

The incoming finance minister said National was working to re-prioritise money over the next several weeks: "We'll work very hard over the next couple of weeks to see if there are some savings and re-prioritisations we can get into that initial mini-budget.

"I'm conscious that time is very limited. We want to make sure we're taking proper advice, that we're being prudent, that we're being careful.

"It'll be necessarily limited — emphasis on the word 'mini.'"

Speaking to Q+A, the new finance minister suggested the outgoing Labour Government had left "some nasty surprises" in the form of "pretty significant" fiscal risks.

"It's fair to say that the outgoing government has left us with some nasty surprises. There are some fiscal risks that are pretty significant that we're going to have to work hard to manage."

Willis said: "What I've had for the first time is an opportunity to be briefed on some of the areas of spending that have become blowouts, and to understand just the beginning of that. My task over the coming week or two is to dig into that in deeper detail."

When asked to explain the "surprises" she referred to, Willis said: "I will have more to say about that in the coming days."

Over the election campaign, National repeatedly attacked the Labour Government's fiscal prudence amid a weakening economy and cost of living crisis.

Earlier this year, Willis pushed the line that "Labour left the cupboard bare" while then-opposition leader Christopher Luxon said outgoing finance minister Grant Robertson would "go down as one of the worst finance ministers this country has ever had."

In response, the outgoing government has previously pointed to positive economic indicators, which it suggested showed New Zealand's economy was "holding its own."