What About That Big Hole?

This is a responsible budget. There are no unicorns or rainbows.

What about that big hole?

Who are you?

We're the Green Party, and what about that big hole?

What, the big hole where the unicorns and the rainbows live?

No, the big hole where you forget to allow for the fact that the government is an employer when you upped the employer contribution to KiwiSaver.

Oh please, leave the budgeting business alone to the grownups and go back to whatever planet you think you're saving!

It's round about seven hundred million dollars.

Did you like that 'planet' line? I thought it up myself. How they laughed in caucus.

Check your spreadsheet.

Honestly!

Go on, we can wait. The holding-hands and singing Kumbaya doesn’t start for half an hour. Seven hundred million dollars.

Wouldn’t you rather be hugging a tree?

Wouldn’t anyone? Consensually of course. But needs must.

Alright alright, goodness gracious it’s like dealing with children sometimes. Let’s see. And… aha. Okay…

Is ‘Aha. Okay…’ the sound of you finding a seven hundred million dollar hole in your budget?