Finance Minister Bill English says getting the Government books into surplus sooner than forecast will help take pressure off interest rates and the exchange rate.
Mr English says despite new figures on Thursday showing the public finances in slightly better shape than forecast in December, it is important that the Government does more to bring spending under control.
For the first five months of the financial year, the operating deficit was $2.5 billion - almost half what the Treasury forecast in December.
But, when investment gains by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and ACC are excluded, the deficit was $5.7 billion - only $100 million lower than forecast.
The cash deficit for the five months to November was $9.1 billion. The Government's net worth was $92 billion, at least $2 billion up on the Treasury forecast.
While the books are not getting worse, the Government says it will cut its allocation of new spending in this year's Budget by up to $300
million.
Mr English says the Government still faces a $15 billion cash deficit for the full year and that will only add to New Zealand's total foreign debt.
