Battered and bruised, but better than expected - that's the state of the government's books in Treasury's pre-election forecast.
The government is celebrating the state of the nation's coffers, saying there's no recession, the economy is growing, there are more jobs than expected, and wages are ahead of inflation.
The National Party is less happy, saying the forecasts show six years of economic mismanagement from the Labour Party will bring sustained pressure in the years to come.
National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
