Mr Robertson said the 2023 Budget was set against the backdrop of a very complex world, including the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, other conflicts around the world and the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle in February.
Some items were about striking a balance, for example removing $5 prescriptions not only relieved some pressure on household spending, it also took pressure off the health system.
"Because we know that if people don’t pick their prescriptions up, they end up in ED or they end up being admitted into hospitals, which are both a big cost on everybody."
The Budget also had a focus on recovery and resilience, Mr Robertson said.
"This is a Budget where we wanted to carry on the work that we’ve done up to now, in areas like our emissions reduction, but also in our adaptation for the impacts of climate change.
"I think New Zealand will now have an annual cyclone season."
Questions from the audience included asking what direction the Government could take to address high power prices and excess profits for major energy companies.
While the Government had stakes in the companies, the directors of those companies had a set of obligations to be profitable.
"We aren’t in a position to directly say to them, ‘you must do this, you must do that’.
"So the strategy that we are approaching this with is actually to focus around the way we can provide direction overall to those energy companies."
The Government is also developing an energy strategy which was focused on moving to 100% renewable electricity.
Another question from the audience was about funding support for non-governmental organisations who struggled with six-month or one-year funding contracts.
Mr Robertson said a plan called the Social Sector Commissioning Project, led by the Ministry of Social Development, was working on how to get long-term sustainable funding for non-governmental organisations.
"It’s a bit of a work in progress but it definitely is an area where we understand that we need to do [something]."
The meeting was jointly organised by the Pakistan Association of Otago and Taieri Labour MP Ingrid Leary.
Joining Ms Leary on the panel were Labour Dunedin list MP Rachel Brooking and Pakistan Association of Otago president Umair Zia, vice-president Humara Fiaz and board chairman Dr Junaid Qureshi.
Pacific Trust Otago chief executive officer Nimo Elisara-Too acted as MC and the meeting began with a recitation of the Quran by Dr Muhammad Hassan.
