It is Budget Day.
So what should we expect?
The government looks set to announce around $1.6 billion in new spending. Around two hundred million of that has already been accounted for with the various pre-Budget announcements.
It is possible there will be an announcement on social housing. That might involve some sort of public - private partnership.
Health and education will be two other areas to watch. The growth in the population has put pressure on those sectors. The Council of Trade Unions says the health system needs $691 million just to maintain existing services.
Paid parental leave is another area that will feature today, with Finance Minister Bill English set to announce an extension of the scheme.
Look out as well for further changes to KiwiSaver. The government axed the $1,000 kickstart payment last year and may now look at introducing auto-enrolment.
