Finance Minister Nicola Willis holds press conference on state of the economy

Author: Julia Gabel,
Publish Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026, 2:08pm

Finance Minister Nicola Willis during a media stand-up on her way to the House. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is set to speak to media about the economy and other financial issues as the election season heats up.

Willis’ address comes weeks after she released the coalition Government’s third and final Budget for this term, a highly anticipated stack of documents that dictates where money for the 2026/27 financial year will be spent.

She set expectations low in the lead up to the Budget, declaring there would be no lolly scrambles or sugar hits - an expectation she on the day lived up to.

But in the following weeks, Labour cried foul as further digging into the documents revealed that the Government had quietly pre-allocated just over a billion dollars from next year’s Budget.

At the time, the Government refused to say where that money is going.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis receiving a standing ovation from her colleagues after presenting Budget 2026 in the House. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Labour’s transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere told Q&A with Jack Tame that his understanding was that the money was going towards a Warkworth to Wellsford highway.

Asked how he knew that, Utikere said: “That’s my understanding, that’s come through to us”.

“If that is the case, then the Government what this money is actually for ... why are they not sharing that, particularly when the Budget has just been released over two weeks ago?

“This is taxpayer’s money we’re talking about.”

Willis told Q&A with Jack Tame that Utikere was “flat out wrong”.

“The undisclosed pre-commitment in the Budget reflects a provision for a potential capital to operating forecast change that is subject to future decisions that may or may not eventuate.”

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter with a focus on data journalism. She joined the Herald in 2020.