Reducing prisoner reoffending by a quarter by 2017 will mean 18,500 fewer victims of crime, the government says.

Don’t we need a slightly more balanced approach with some stimulus from the government to give the economy a kick start?

Government spends more at the top of the cliff so it requires fewer ambulances at the bottom.

With extra IRD funding, clearly the government wishes to tighten the screws a little further.

Boost of $2.5m in business energy efficiency programmes, while 41,000 more houses will get insulated.

But government figures reveal earthquake recovery spending, excluding EQC, dropped between 2011 and this year.