High debt and big swings in public and private debt have featured prominently in New Zealand’s modern economic history:  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  •  Central government debt was over 100 per cent of GDP for 70 years from the 1870s (and in excess of 200 per cent of GDP at peak).
over the past three years, they have risen, even though the last of those three years has been a very weak one for the world economy. They are now above the peak they reached immediately before the Asian crisis. •  The focus on our export prices is misplaced because the really interesting action seems to be taking place on import prices.