Deputy Prime Minister Bill English warned a group of Western Bay of Plenty students their generation would be left to pay-off the national debt if the government does not rein it in now.
'Part of my responsibility to you, is to keep that debt from exploding. If it explodes, you get the bill,” says Bill.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Bill English gets grilled by Western Bay of Plenty students – video below.

His warning to the 18 senior students from high schools across the Bay of Plenty was in response to one of many questions posed by the students.
This informal question time was the climax of Bill's day long visit to the Western Bay of Plenty.
The meeting with the students was held around the board room table at law firm Holland Beckett and was chaired by Brian Rogers, Sun Media director and editor of SunLive/The Weekend Sun.
Every student got the opportunity to ask the Minister of Finance a question.
The questions covered a range of topics such as how Bill got into politics, climate change, recession, lowering carbon emissions, New Zealand's debt and tertiary education.
One student asked Bill what advice he would give to students their age who were getting ready to move out of home.
'Listen to what your dad tells you. Don't just ring mum,” says Bill.
He was also asked if his government would look back in 50 years and regret the decisions it is making on climate change.
'No, I do not. It's the most complicated issue we have dealt with. I think we have done the right thing,” says Bill.
Bill also spent the day in Tauranga visiting the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce, meeting local body leaders and talking to Federated Farmers in Te Puke.