Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

I was disappointed the Nats dropped the ball last week and missed the opportunity to seize on what really mattered in the Budget — and it wasn’t free prescriptions. That particular political smokescreen was put up as easy fodder for media to fall for in the hope they’d miss the real story, which is our eye watering debt levels and how inflationary this whole thing is going to be. Sadly it wasn’t just the media who fell for it but Luxon too. I was just thinking Luxon was coming to life a bit and showing some real mettle – the Budget should've been an easy hit for him – on a government already proven to be so inept at economic management. So the attack on the Budget should’ve been a fait accompli. But Robertson and Hipkins instead outwitted Luxon with their political advantage – their apparent phD in smokescreens. Their budget was woeful, but their political strategy was flawless. They pre-conditioned the media, commentators, opposition and taxpayers to expect a no frills, back to basics, bread and butter budge