(Almost) everything our governments have inherited since 2005
The word 'inherited' gets thrown around a lot in parliament. There are inherited 'messes', 'dire' situations, years of 'neglect' and a whole lot of 'crises' across essentially every major portfolio – and very rarely is anything the government claims to have inherited a good thing.
A search of government press releases since 2005 reveals National-led governments have more often pointed to 'inherited' situations than Labour-led ones, with former National MP and health minister Tony Ryall the biggest culprit. Health is easily the most complained about sector when it comes to issues bequeathed by governments' predecessors, followed by the economy, housing and education. While governments in their first term are more likely to highlight 'inherited' issues, governments in their second and even third term are not immune to the phenomenon.
While it can be a pretty annoying phrase to hear if you'd just like someone to own up to something, it's not hard to see where they're coming from – the bigger the mess you've been left, the harder it is to clean up. I may be a decent reporter, for example, yet I have inherited an industry on fire. But enough of that. Here's almost everything the government has inherited in the last 20 years, according to Beehive press releases.
Economy
'A country with its bank account run down and its credit card maxed out' – Nicola Willis (National), May 27, 2025
'A long period of economic decline' – Simeon Brown (National), March 26, 2025
A 'recession' – David Seymour (Act), February 14, 2025 and Christopher Luxon (National) May 15, 2024. Also Bill English (National), January 14, July 24, August 12 and October 18, 2009, April 27, 2012 and May 2 and 21, 2015; Simon Bridges (National), August 27, 2014; Gerry Brownlee (National), November 19, 2009 and July 19, 2014; and John Key (National), February 9, 2011.
'Structural deficit and a challenging set of circumstances' – Willis, May 9 and October 15, 2024
A 'dire fiscal situation' – Seymour, May 30, 2024
'High cost of living' – Louise Upston (National), March 28, 2024
'An unhappy mix of high inflation, high interest rates, a contracting economy, and rising unemployment' – Willis, February 15, 2024
A GDP that was looking bad but then the government changed it – Grant Robertson (Labour), March 8, 9, 12 and 17, 2020
'A stable economy but a country that had major challenges' – Jacinda Ardern (Labour), November 21, 2019
An economy 'based on excessive property speculation and high rates of immigration driving consumption-led growth' – David Parker (Labour), July 2, 2019
The 'laissez-faire neglect that nine years of a National government produced' – Winston Peters (NZ First), May 31, 2019
An 'inadequate status quo' from the 'English/Key governments' – Peters, May 8, 2018
An ACC scheme 'that had a $4.8bn hole' – Nikki Kaye (National), October 28, 2011 and April 2, May 12, September 22 and October 22, 2015
'An economy that was already in trouble' – Anne Tolley (National), September 30, 2009
A 'billion-dollar blowout' in ACC – Nick Smith (National), August 7, 2009
'Growing debt' – English, May 29, 2009
The 'regulatory wasteland that was the financial sector' in 1999 – Lianne Dalziel (Labour), September 25, 2008
The 'national embarrassment' of 'social breakdown, rising poverty, and growing inequality' – Michael Cullen (Labour), May 7, 2008
A 'legacy of poverty' – Steve Maharey (Labour), February 16, 2007
'An economy reaping the efficiency gains of the earlier structural adjustments' – Cullen, November 1, 2006
'An economic and social landscape that was very different to the one we have today' – David Benson-Pope (Labour), September 18, 2006
A 'regulatory regime that was failing to deliver on its promises of competitive prices and sensible investment decisions' – Cullen, August 17, 2006
Education
'A school property system bordering on a crisis' – Erica Stanford (National), February 26, 2024 and July 18, 2025
'A struggling system with a pipeline of underfunded school upgrades that were over scoped and couldn't be delivered' – Stanford, October 4, 2024
A 'significant teacher shortage' – Jan Tinetti (Labour), March 18 and 25, 2021, and Ardern, November 4, 2018
The long-term challenge of 'getting more young people to take up trades and work skills training' – Chris Hipkins (Labour), October 23, 2019
A 'decade of neglect' in funding classrooms – Ardern, July 5, 2019
'Low morale' among teachers – Hipkins, February 2, 2018
A 'world-class university system that is consistently high quality' – Paul Goldsmith (National), July 27, 2017
A 'school property portfolio with an average age of 40 years' with 'leaky buildings' and 'poor maintenance' – Kaye, July 16, 2016, and April 6 and May 26, 2017
An 'expensive and bloated system with serious deficiencies' – Steven Joyce (National), March 5, 2014
A sector that had 'seen lots of cuts and a bit of tinkering', yet 'no focus on how we move our system' – Hekia Parata (National), November 29 and December 9, 2013
Health
'A health system in a state of turmoil' – Simeon Brown (National), March 7, 2025
'A health system facing a significant number of challenges following major reform' – Shane Reti (National), March 7, 2024
'A neglected and underfunded mental health system' and 'seriously aging mental health facilities not fit for purpose' – Ayesha Verrall (Labour), May 25 and August 21, 2023
A 'mess' – Andrew Little (Labour), May 20 and October 26, 2022, and Tony Ryall (National), December 16, 2008 and June 30, 2011
Systems and services 'under serious pressure from years of neglect and underinvestment' – Peeni Henare (Labour), September 1, 2022, and Little, June 14, 2022
An 'underfunded and narrowly targeted' healthy homes initiative – Verrall, October 3, 2022
Poor record keeping – Little, August 24, 2022
A 'major catch-up job' – Little, May 20, 2021
'Underinvestment in core hospital facilities' – David Clark (Labour), January 29, 2020
'A health and disability system that had been woefully underfunded and neglected' – David Clark, October 29, 2019
The 'long-term challenge' of underpaid hospital staff – David Clark, October 6 and 8, 2019
'Earthquake-prone hospitals, asbestos, leaky roofs and buildings that have simply come to the end of their useful life' – Robertson, May 30, 2019
A 'catalogue of building issues at hospitals around the country' – David Clark, April 30, 2019
DHB deficits – David Clark, August 1, 2018, and Ryall, June 15 and 28, September 8 and November 18, 2009 and November 19, 2010
'Long-standing drinking water issues' and 'nine years of neglect' on drinking water standards – David Clark, July 5, 2018
A 'decade of deficits' and 'failing status quo' – Ryall, June 22 and October 25, 2013 and April 1, 2014
The 'workforce problem' and 'crisis' and 'shortages' – Ryall, February 27, March 31, October 16 and 19 and December 4, 2009, March 13, April 10 and June 12, 2010, June 11, 2011 and April 18, 2013, and Coleman, October 15, 2009
Lessening influence from clinicians on patient outcomes – Ryall, August 3 and 8, September 16 and 18 and October 24, 2009 and December 7, 2012
A system 'bloated with targets, priorities, objectives, indicators and measures', some of which were 'well-meaning but unrealistic' – Ryall, September 27, 2011
A 'system on track to financial crisis' – Coleman, May 21, 2011, and Ryall, October 20, 2010
'A lot of problems here in Dunedin' but specifically the hospital which had been 'neglected for many years' – Ryall, June 4, 2010
'Mounting public concern about poor care in rest homes' – Ryall, June 3, 2010
A public health system not equipped to deal with 'significant financial and clinical challenges' – Ryall, October 22 and 24 and November 5, 2009
'Disjointed and uncoordinated resources' – Ryall, August 7, 2009
A system 'overburdened' with too many targets – Ryall, May 8, 2009
Delays in waiting lists – Ryall, December 22, 2008, January 30 and February 26, 2009
'High costs' in primary care – David Cunliffe (Labour), September 12, 2008
'Gutted health system' – Pete Hodgson (Labour), July 2, 2007
A system that 'favoured Americanisation' – Hodgson, July 22, 2006
Housing
'A complicated legal landscape' – Chris Bishop, National, June 18, 2025
'A huge emergency housing problem which grew from a few families using it for short periods of time into a situation where three thousand families are living in motels for months at a time' – Bishop, March 6, 2024
'Crisis' – Megan Woods (Labour), September 30, 2020, May 13, June 14, August 5, September 28, October 19, 2021, April 28, May 19, July 19, August 12 and November 17, 2022, April 26 and 28, May 4 and 8, October 6, 2023, as well as David Parker, October 16, 2019, October 19, 2021, and Kris Faafoi (Labour), November 17, 2019, February 17 and August 5, 2020, and Ardern, February 12 and October 15, 2019
'The intergenerational taonga of public housing' – Woods, May 24, 2023
'Issues' – Woods, October 23, 2019
'Neglected infrastructure, including rundown hospitals, roads that had been announced but not paid for, overcrowded classrooms and a state housing shortage' – Robertson, May 20, 2021 and November 20 and December 11, 2019
'Poor-quality' state homes – Key, June 29, 2013
'Disintegrating social housing' – Phil Heatley (National), August 5, 2010
'Depleted' state housing stock – Maryan Street (Labour), July 23, 2008
A state housing 'mess' – Chris Carter (Labour), May 12, 2007
Immigration
Under the header 'WHAT I INHERITED': 'An immigration system that was clearly under incredible pressure' – Stanford, August 16, 2024
Under the header 'Immigration under the previous government': the 'very poor state' of the sector – Coleman, May 7, 2011
A single immigration fraud officer despite National's nine years in power – Cunliffe, July 28, October 12 and 17, 2007
Infrastructure
A 'dire state of government books' (in reference to the need to access private capital to fund infrastructure) – Simon Court (Act), August 29, 2024
A 'real mess' and 'big series of challenges' – Bishop, March 21 and June 14, 2024
A 'deficit' – Michael Wood (Labour), June 1, 2022, Robertson, May 19, 2022, Phil Twyford (Labour), September 17, 2020 and Cullen, August 13, 2008
'Years of underinvestment' – Robertson, October 9, 2019
A 'glaring deficit in infrastructure planning, management and funding' – Shane Jones (NZ First), August 1, 2019
Social development
A 'tough labour market' – Louise Upston (National), January 23, 2025
'Welfare dependency' and the welfare system at large – Upston, February 22 and April 30, 2024
A 'homelessness crisis' – Marama Davidson (Greens), March 26, 2021, and Ardern, February 13, 2020
'A welfare state that showed no sign of diminishing despite having enjoyed a decade of favourable economic conditions and strong employment' – Paula Bennett (National), March 31, 2010
A 'deeply fractured' society where 'many had little hope of success' – Maharey, May 18, 2007
A 'bitter, divided, inward-looking country' – Cullen, May 6, 2007
Transport
A 'significant backlog of road maintenance across the country' – Brown, June 6, July 19 and October 4, 2024
'A transport system in need of investment, without the appropriate funding tools to pay for it' – Brown, August 29, 2024
'Road maintenance crisis' – Parker, July 16, August 17, 2023
'Messes' from Transmission Gully – Wood, April 20, 2021
An Auckland Transport Alignment Project plan with a '$9.7bn funding gap' – Robertson, June 28, 2018
A 'widening gap between what needs to be spent, for instance, on public transport and roads, and what has been set aside by the previous government' – Ardern, November 8, 2017
The cost of upgrading KiwiRail – Ryall, June 28, 2012
A 'huge infrastructure deficit' – Helen Clark, May 16, 2009
A final word
'I try not to go on too much about the mess [former energy minister] Max Bradford created. It's my job to fix it up, not complain about what this government inherited' – Hodgson, June 21, 2002
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