RECOVERY EXPECTED
Ratings firm S&P said in a note the budget indicated a significant hit to New Zealand's finances in the next couple of years before slowly recovering.
"We expect New Zealand's economy to recover faster than the budget assumes, aided by the quicker easing of lockdown restrictions than assumed in the budget," the agency said.
Robertson said the measures will bring unemployment rate back to its current level of 4.2% by June 2022. He estimated the package would save 140,000 jobs over two years.
Prime Minister Ardern has garnered global praise for her leadership amid the pandemic, with the country recording only 21 deaths from coronavirus, among the lowest tolls in the world.
But she faces a tough task rebooting the $200 billion economy, which is dependent on trade and tourism, with growth expected to slow significantly and hundreds of thousands of jobs to be lost.
She eased some tough lockdown measures this week amid growing pressure from critics who said they were crippling small businesses and hurting the economy.
The main opposition National Party slammed the budget, saying it lacked any detail of how money would be spent and what it will achieve.
"Kiwis have sacrificed so much through the restrictions of the lockdown, our collective efforts have so far worked well, now we need to get our economy cranking again," opposition leader Simon Bridges said.
The government said it would build 8,000 new homes to support the construction sector, and create 11,000 jobs in environmental projects. It plans to spend NZ$4 billion on supporting businesses and extended its current wage subsidy scheme for another eight weeks.
