If the theme of 2024 was ‘cutting back’, then 2025 is all about ‘growth’.

The word appears 31 times in Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s State of the Nation speech – and for good reason.

 Luxon said it’s the “key to brighter days ahead” after experiencing the “biggest recession since the early 1990s.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has been handed a revised Economic Growth portfolio as part of that planning, working on things like driving up tourism numbers, and international investment.

This week on The Front Page, we’ll be unpacking some of the Government’s plans for the economy, how they’ll work, and if they are right for New Zealand.

Later on, we’ll get some insight into how and whether New Zealand can actually stimulate growth from independent economist Cameron Bagrie.

First up today though, NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan is with to explain why growth is the topic of conversation.

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