National’s proposed public spending to GDP ratio – the election’s clear blue line

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, May 15th, 2014 - 72 comments
Categories: bill english, Economy, national, privatisation, Public Private Partnerships, public services - Tags:

The real story of the coming election is neither corruption nor perceptions of corruption but rather what was revealed in Bill English’s reported pre-budget speech to the National Party’s Southern Region conference at the weekend. He signalled an intention to reduce the proportion of government spending to 26% of GDP over the next 6 to 7 years. The current level reported to be hovering at 30% already places NZ in the lowest quartile of OECD countries, having fallen from 35% of GDP in 2008. Most developed nations, despite kinder geography and greater economies of scale, spend a significantly higher proportion of GDP on government goods and services. Bill English’s reported statement (I cannot find the whole speech online) is probably the clearest indication yet of the general direction of the National Party’s policies in a new term.

When parties approach a third term in government the claim is often made that they have run their course as far as new ideas are concerned. There are no manifesto policy announcements yet from National so we just don’t know how it is proposed that this objective be met. However it does reveal that the National Party’s basket of ideas is far from empty and that it does not regard status quo spending as desirable. To achieve this would require extraordinarily high GDP growth, above historical averages which is very unlikely, or further large cuts to public expenditure.

For all those who hold dear the benefits to the wider population achieved by New Zealand’s Social Democratic programme of the last 70 years, this is where the election contrast between National and more progressive parties lies.

We do not know what cuts are proposed but the options identified below are either continuations of existing policy directions by the National Party or have been signalled through press releases, law changes or speeches as possible initiatives.

  • public service whipping dogFurther outsourcing of public sector services by competitive tender using the government’s ‘best sourcing’ model for delivering “Better Public Services’
  • A continuation of the policy of ‘digital by default’, replacing staffed offices with websites and 0800 numbers,
  • Cuts to the inequality reducing financial transfers to poorer New Zealanders – such as Working for Families.
  • Possible moves to means testing of benefits like pensions as was signalled in an article in yesterday’s Dominion Post
  • Weakening the roles of public agencies so they are less costly to run. The model here is the Department of Conservation’s change of role to focus on volunteering and tourism rather than policy advice and species and habitat protection.
  • Further privatisations, possibly using different models than the mixed-ownership model, including potentially beyond State Owned Enterprises like NZPost, Quotable Value and Kiwibank and into core services like for example the Land Registry as the UK has just done.
  • The adoption of different funding models (such as public private partnerships) for infrastructure projects such as roads, hospitals and schools which keep the cost off the government books in the short term but essentially mean that for generations the public buys the right over and over to use public infrastructure.

It will be interesting to see in the lead-up to the election whether this public spend to GDP ratio commitment is communicated . It seems to have been in a speech intended for party members and the bald fact of the lower ratio has not, so far as I can see, been signalled in other more public speeches.

References

  1. Treasury graph – public spending as a proportion of GDP by country 2007
  2. Best sourcing policy paper:
  3. Minister of Finance’s speech to National Party Queenstown conference
  4. Super for rich has $570m price tag

Jan Rivers,
Public Good Champion in a personal capacity
www.publicgood.org.nz

72 comments on “National’s proposed public spending to GDP ratio – the election’s clear blue line ”

  1. Colonial Viper 1

    And this is where Labour can hit back hard and fast. National has just given Labour a theme it can run with for the next 3 months.

    Say that Labour believes that public sector spending is a crucial part of the economy, creates jobs and provides services that every New Zealander uses and which the economy depends on.

    Say that National’s plan amounts to a turn down the path of ugly European austerity; Labour on the other hand will maintain Government spending around 30% higher than National at around 1/3 of GDP in order to give New Zealanders.

    Labour will do this because it values giving New Zealanders a common wealth of health, education and other public sector services that they deserve, and because Labour believes in supporting our doctors, nurses, teachers, lecturers police, armed forces and tertiary students for doing a tough job every day, not trying to balance the books by short changing every day New Zealanders.

    • Matthew Hooton 1.1

      “ugly European austerity”?

      Look at the graph. Spending as a percentage of GDP is higher in most European countries than in NZ. They haven’t had “austerity” in Europe, they have a correction from massive overspending.

      • kenny 1.1.1

        Tell that to the Greeks, Italians, Portuguese,Irish and French.

        What a wally!

        • Gosman 1.1.1.1

          The French???? They have attempted to avoid any cut backs for as long as possible and even looked at trying to get an even bigger slice of the economy in State hands with the aborted 75% wealth tax. How has that worked out for them?

      • KJT 1.1.2

        Don’t you mean a failure to address the necessary “correction” from massive under-taxing of the wealthy.

        Just like National.

        Borrowing for unaffordable tax cuts.

        Then having to run around like a bunch of destructive rodents gnawing at the foundations of New Zealand’s social and physical infrastructure, and putting sneaky taxes on the poorest to pay for it, to pretend they have a, wholly delusional, surplus.

        Leaving a swath of destruction that will take generations to fix.

        • Matthew Hooton 1.1.2.1

          Top tax rates are high in Europe: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_rates
          So how do you get that Europe’s problems come from under taxation of the wealthy?

          • Gosman 1.1.2.1.1

            Maybe because the French failed to raise taxes on the wealthy to 75%.

            Interesting that most austerity in Europe comes with increased taxes on the wealthy and not just cuts in spending. The left tends to ignore that inconvenient fact.

            • North 1.1.2.1.1.1

              Read and understand Kenny @ 1.1.1 you ugly fool Gooseman. The wealthy suffer austerity and the masses don’t ? True fanatical right wing liar you.

              • Gosman

                Kenny tried to argue that the French have undergone austerity. He/she lost all credibility after that outrageous statement.

          • Ennui 1.1.2.1.2

            Oh Matthew, do you really think that the wealthy pay tax at those rates in Europe (and elsewhere)? Check the maths, it does not add up. Being wealthy does not mean having to be taxed at a high rate, there are so many vehicles for avoidance. Do you really expect us to be so credulous?

          • Mike S 1.1.2.1.3

            Because as you know very well Mathew, the wealthy don’t pay income tax because they don’t declare any income.

      • Colonial Viper 1.1.3

        “ugly European austerity”?

        Look at the graph. Spending as a percentage of GDP is higher in most European countries than in NZ. They haven’t had “austerity” in Europe, they have a correction from massive overspending.
        M

        Deliberately collapse the private sector and yes of course government spending will look bigger “as a proportion of GDP.” Come on Hooton, you know the tricks, and we do too.

        The obfuscation spoken earnestly like a true austerity advocate.

        There’s a simple clue as to when austerity is being applied Mr Hooton, and that is when a country’s unemployment rate skyrockets over 10% within the space of a couple of years even as the fat cats get fatter, and “democracy” is no longer run by the people, but the central banks, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

        • Gosman 1.1.3.1

          The countries that underwent more austerity post 2007 generally have lower unemployment than those that have dithered over cutting back the size of the State. Witness the difference between France and the UK.

        • Matthew Hooton 1.1.3.3

          So you define “austerity” not by government spending as a percentage of GDP but by the unemployment rate?
          That means there has been no austerity in New Zealand since 1993 (see http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/key_graphs/employment/ ) but very considerable austerity in Greece through most of the 2000s (see http://www.craigwilly.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/greece-unemployment-rate.png )
          I’ll go for govt spending as % if GDP as my measure, if that’s ok.

          • Colonial Viper 1.1.3.3.1

            Oh FFS Hooton you may think that you will do OK by being allowed inside the friendly club house of the top 0.1% as an honorary member or hanger on, but the power elite is screwing everything and everyone in sight and no one is going to be better off for it in the long run.

            • Ennui 1.1.3.3.1.1

              CV, Matthew falls into that category known as “Useful Fools”. It is sort of analogous to the Clown Jester who ate from the kings tables and sat by the fireside. You get to partake until you are neither funny or wanted, then you go to live in the pigsty with the rest of the peasants.

              When Matthew speaks some words of the Bard come to mind that fit his role, and his ultimate insignificance.
              Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
              That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
              And then is heard no more. It is a tale
              Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
              Signifying nothing.

        • Colonial Viper 1.1.3.4

          Gossie all your shit is irrelevant. NZ has the lowest unemployment of all those countries and we have mainly dodged austerity approaches. Which makes sense because austerity means pulling money out of provinces, towns and cities and everyone seems surprised when that results in massive unemployment.

          • Gosman 1.1.3.4.1

            The nations in Europe that actually did undergo a high amount of austerity like the Baltic nations have bounced back strongly. Those like France and Italy that have resisted efforts to pair back the size of the State have languished. This is at odds with your view that austerity is bad.

            http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2013/04/15/the-triumph-of-good-economics-austere-baltic-states-outgrow-their-european-neighbors/

            • Colonial Viper 1.1.3.4.1.1

              The “baltic nations” went through a fucking genocidal war, next you’ll be adding that into the recipe for “economic recovery.”

              And of course there is nothing “wrong” with austerity if you are in the top 5% who benefit from it (because they are the ones who structure and design the austerity programmes), not the bottom 50% who get smashed (also by design).

              Seriously do you think we were all born last night? FFS.

              • Gosman

                Ummm… what genocidal war did the Baltic nations go through recently?

                • King Kong

                  Getting the Balkans and Baltics mixed up is an easy mistake to make however it makes you look a bit of a prat when stridently decrying an areas economic policies it turns out you are talking about completely the wrong place.

                  • Colonial Viper

                    Ahhh right thanks KK. The Balkans got massive bribes from the EU and Nato to join, and their citizens got access to work in far richer European nations.

                    It was part of the power elite’s plan to bring austerity to western Europe and reduce labour standards and wages there.

                    • Gosman

                      What??? Jeeze CV you kind of lost it there. I generally place you in the reasonably sane hard core lefty but not sure you deserve your place there after that.

              • Disraeli Gladstone

                Baltic states. Not Balkan.

                The Baltics have gone through their own Soviet oppression and civil unrest, but not at anything approaching a genocidal level as far as I’m aware.

            • thatguynz 1.1.3.4.1.2

              Gos, one simple question. have you ever read “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” by John Perkins?

              • Gosman

                No but from what I can tell it is one large conspiracy theory with minimal connection with reality.

                • thatguynz

                  Really, you drew that conclusion from NOT reading it? Interesting. Would that be a “conspiracy theory” in the same sense of GCSB’s involvement in the global surveillance apparatus?

                  I’m sure you manage to rationalise a lot of things by drawing a line under them and labelling them a “conspiracy theory”. Doesn’t that become an issue for you when said theories become proven fact?

                  • Gosman

                    Don’t know. Hasn’t happened yet. I’ll let you know when it does.

                    • thatguynz

                      Sure it has – you’re just too blind to have seen it. Nice attempt at deflection however.

                      Despite your assertions to the contrary, you seem to have little idea how the IMF and World Bank operate in the context of global debt markets. Clearly that must be a “conspiracy theory” too. Oh to have your world view..

      • Jan Rivers 1.1.4

        My point in writing the article was to point out that it would be good to have the potential governmental, social and spending impacts of a continuation of a sharply reducing ratio of government spend discussed as part of the budget and later the election debate.

        People may think a reducing ratio this is a good idea or not. Personally I think there are significant problems from the cuts to date that relate to increasing poverty and inequality as well as reduced resilience to the challenges NZ faces – climate change, aging population, and so on. Further limits in this direction are in my view are likely to increase the nature and scope of these issues in ways that many will find unacceptable.

        • Gosman 1.1.4.1

          What are your thoughts on thelessons identified at the conclusion of this article then?

          http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2013/04/15/the-triumph-of-good-economics-austere-baltic-states-outgrow-their-european-neighbors/2/

          • Colonial Viper 1.1.4.1.1

            Forbes, the magazine of growth for the 1% and of course for the next 4% of hangers-ons, what a crock of shit.

            Austerity is perfect for them, it boosts their incomes, lets them acquire assets on the cheap, and dump workers and workers’ pay for extra corporate profits. What’s there not to like if you are part of the power-elite.

            As for the Baltic states, they bounced back from a genocidal war and state communism, so the fuck what does that have to do with Australasia.

        • Wayne 1.1.4.2

          Actually this is a good discussion topic.

          By the way the graph has all types of govt spending, including local govt, typically 4 to 5%. That is why the NZ is just below 40%. Since it relates to 2007, it effectively shows central govt expenditure at 35%.

          So Labour is happy with 35%, if not more. For the Nats, the figure for 2014/15 will be about 30%, which the Nats are typically happy with. I do recall that Bill Birch thought 27 to 28% would be better, making a total govt sector of 33%.

          In any event the 5% difference in the size of government between Labour and National is a worthwhile debate. It is around $10 billion a year. Labour would spend it through government programmes. And you can have a lot of programmes for $10 billion. Though under Labour, they will allow the state sector to lazily grow as a payback for their union supporters, so some, maybe as much as 30% of the $10 billion is soaked up by excessive bureaucracy, without any actual new services.

          National would leave that money in peoples pockets and for businesses to reinvest.

          Voters get to choose.

          • thatguynz 1.1.4.2.1

            Absolute bollocks Wayne. Whilst the State Sector permanent employees may (or may not) have decreased under the current National government, the number of contract employees has grown dramatically.

            Rather than your “payback for their union supporters” dog whistle perhaps you could cite some actual figures to substantiate your position?

            Incidentally, as a rule of thumb the businesses don’t typically reinvest as you have alluded to here “National would leave that money in peoples pockets and for businesses to reinvest.” – they provide a greater return to their shareholders.

            • Wayne 1.1.4.2.1.1

              Well, three things happen with the $10 billion being left with citizens and businesses.

              Some, probably the majority, gets spent on consumption which flows through the economy. Some gets invested in to capital assets. And some is used to repay debt.

              However, I guess in fact the govt would spend a fair chunk of the $10 billion on debt repayment. You could halve govt debt by paying $3 billion a year for 10 years. And of course there are payments to build up the Super Fund.

              So at least half of the $10 billion will stay with the govt.

              • thatguynz

                So your suggestion that “Though under Labour, they will allow the state sector to lazily grow as a payback for their union supporters” doesn’t really hold water then does it?

          • lprent 1.1.4.2.2

            The graph selected was more my choice than Jan Rivers. It is a guest post, which means that one of us had to put it up. I looked and saw that there wasn’t a good visual draw in the text to highlight the point, so pulled a link out of the references. But I was in a bit of a rush so I took the first graph in the link..

          • Jan Rivers 1.1.4.2.3

            Thank you. It is indeed a worthwhile debate. I think you are being disingenuous to say that lower levels of spending leave money in people’s pockets and for businesses to reinvest though.

            People: – The current levels of inequality and poverty are well documented. Even august bodies like the OECD, World Bank, and World Economic Forum as well as the United Nations are united in agreement about this. New Zealand is an extreme example of the inequality problem and hundreds of thousands of people here are socially dislocated to the point where they cannot play an active part in their communities including simple things like adequate food, warmth and clothing.

            Businesses: The work of people like Mariana Mazzucato, Ha Joon Chang and more locally Shaun Hendy has shown that the idea of courageous entrepreneurs bringing wealth to their own businesses is highly over-rated and very few small business either grow fast or employ many people. Unfortunately in New Zealand the profitability of investing in real estate and dairying absorbs far too much of the available capital leaving other sectors high and dry.

            As for your comment : “under Labour, they will allow the state sector to lazily grow as a payback for their union supporters, so some, maybe as much as 30% of the $10 billion is soaked up by excessive bureaucracy, without any actual new services.” I’d be interested to hear of any reputable research here or internationally that supports that assertion.

      • Johnm 1.1.5

        Yes, it’s austerity in Europe. Public spending is still high because the public are paying to bail out the private casino banks, which should have been allowed to go bankrupt, while the public are being beggared. Try spinning that one! Natzis are following their pathetic contemptible neolibereal ideogy Key and English are overpaid smug flash suit parading idiots, and the types who vote for them selfish pack of bastards.

      • Puddleglum 1.1.6

        The graph (I presume you mean the one in the post?) references the year 2007, Matthew.

    • blue leopard 1.2

      +100 CV

      Good idea

      Did you check out the new website that Karol pointed out?

      The website’s stated aim is to promote public discussion on important issues we face by providing information in the following manner:

      A group of writers have been assembled to write short briefing papers based on extensive research programmes and presented in a form that can be easily understood by the public at large.

      The first paper has been written by Brian Easton (13 May 2014), who I view as pretty mainstream and his article has stuck in my mind since I read it. Here is an excerpt (with my bold added)

      So the public rhetoric makes a fetish of economic growth which the research evidence concludes economic policy has little influence over (poor quality management aside – as the Rogernomic era demonstrates) and that, in any case, the material standard of living does little for individuals’ wellbeing. Ironically to pursue that [growth] goal demands that measures which actually address wellbeing should be cut back.

      That is why the debate on the budget will stress the need to restrain expenditure and pay little attention to a host of quality-of-output activities being reduced. The examples are too numerous to list but it is well to remember that the consequences may not become immediately apparent.

      The Website address: http://briefingpapers.co.nz/2014/05/the-purpose-of-economic-policy/

      • Ad 1.2.1

        Fairly bracing for those of us who prefer more intervention to less:

        “…a fetish of economic growth which the research evidence concludes economic policy has little influence over…”

        Cheers for the Easton article – a whole lot of succinct common sense spoken there. I commend it to you all.

      • Tracey 1.2.2

        thanks blue

      • Colonial Viper 1.2.3

        🙂 BL

      • karol 1.2.4

        Yes, bl, and excellent briefing paper that says succinctly pretty much what I think about the interaction between economic and social policy. It is good to see someone like Easton, with some fairly widely known credibility on the topic explain it clearly. I posted a comment under it.

        • blue leopard 1.2.4.1

          I hope you get a response/start a discussion, that was an interesting question you asked.

  2. Crunchtime 2

    First! 😉

    EDIT: Dang, beaten to the punch by CV even as I typed my message 😛

    How does the steady reduction in govt spending jibe with the massive increase in govt foreign debt over the same period?

    Where is our money going??

    • KJT 2.1

      To Nationals private contractors and asset strippers.

      Just like the third world countries we resemble where most of the borrowing and aid money goes straight back offshore to banks, oversea corporates and wealthy thieves.

      To ensure that National politicians get their lucrative figurehead jobs in the private sector after leaving politics. Which is how New Zealand politicians take their bribes.

    • Gosman 2.2

      The increase in debt is as a result of the structural deficit that the last Labour led government left the country. A series of deficits that was predicted to last till 2018.

      • Colonial Viper 2.2.1

        In this case I actually think the deficit is good. Labour’s promise to move us into surplus is well meaning but totally misguided. English could have done a Ruthansia slash and burn to balance the books (I’m sure you would have loved that) but he didn’t, and that is something he deserves credit for from the Left.

      • framu 2.2.2

        ha ha – thats bullshit

        bill english was borrowing more per week than he needed to remember – there was an entire series of stories about it in the MSM

        and yet again – the prediciton was made in 2008 – did it take into account events that occured after 2008 and what either party might have done or changed?

        the answer to that is “no”

        • Gosman 2.2.2.1

          Ummm…. no hence why we are only 6 years down the track and are already back in the black as opposed to 2018. However I am curious what you think Labour would have done to reduce the deficit in a more expedious manner.

          • framu 2.2.2.1.1

            Ummmmmm – your talking a bunch of crap that has nopthing to do with what i said or what you said before that

            ok – lets make it really simple for you

            you said
            “The increase in debt is as a result of the structural deficit that the last Labour led government left the country”

            i replied
            “ha ha – thats bullshit

            bill english was borrowing more per week than he needed to remember – there was an entire series of stories about it in the MSM”

            your reply of “no hence why we are only 6 years down the track and are already back in the black as opposed to 2018.” is irrelevant

            you said
            “A series of deficits that was predicted to last till 2018.”

            i said
            “the prediciton was made in 2008 – did it take into account events that occured after 2008 and what either party might have done or changed?”

            your reply of ” However I am curious what you think Labour would have done to reduce the deficit in a more expedious manner.” is irrelevant

            do you see how this language thing works?

            • Gosman 2.2.2.1.1.1

              How much more was Bill English borrowing and where did he use this extra money?

      • Tracey 2.2.3

        zre you saying national saw the prediction of deficits til 2018 and the causes for it, and changed nothing, hence the 73billion debt?

      • newsense 2.2.4

        more political predictions that turned out to be complete BS then and make the Treasury in need of a check of party affiliation and bias more than any broadcaster- although oddly enough the former electorate chair of the PM and the former press secretary of a National PM in prominent management positions didn’t resurface during the latest hand-wringing (bias is only one way- PM forgets Paul Holmes and Dr Brash) , then you get Michael Bassett on the radio representing cough a ‘Labour’ point of view or at least introduced as a ‘former Labour cabinet minister’.

        yeh.

  3. greywarbler 3

    OMG We’re a banana republic but we don’t grow bananas (so we’ll have to import them) and we are not a republic (so we will import the USA brand which comes in a plain wrapper, covertly). But we are also not really a developed country. Can a country like ours sink to being an emerging country after crawling from the water and after it has taken a large number of steps on dry land? It seems that this toddler has some disease difficult to diagnose causing it to regress. Dummy anyone?

  4. Tracey 4

    has he said anything about 28% of gdp being financial services and agriculture 8%?

  5. Philj 5

    xox
    + 1 Mathew for posting in your own name, if it is Mathew.
    Matt, have you ever been terribly wrong in errors of political judgement? Please elucidate. Do you believe the USA system of corporate bought government is a total crock, and NZ is heading the same way? Interested in your opinion, if It is you, and not Pete George. Sheesh, it’s nice not having him around. I feel much cleaner.

    [lprent: As far as I can see (which is pretty far), Matthew Hooton always posts under his own name. Most ‘public’ personalities do. And I tend to frown on people sockpuppeting, mostly because I have to release their first comments and I usually run a check on new handles to find out who they used to be. I’m mostly interested in when the handles for one person start talking to each other – which tends to receive permanent bans. But I also don’t like people changing handles too often (more work for me). Or when people start trying to astroturf topics using different handles. ]

    • Colonial Viper 5.1

      Geee are you trying to reply to Matthew Hooton? He’s a long time PR man, trainer and consultant to National Party peeps.

  6. aerobubble 6

    In Australia….

    So they declare, they are for less regulation, less
    government, and so the harder they work towards
    that end the easier their work is, god what giants
    of politics they are.

    Yet what happens with hard times…

    After thirty years of lowering standards, arguing
    and then implementing banking deregulation, the world
    enters a giant financial caused recession, and guess what,
    not them, anyone but not them, not their policies.

    Its the unions again, the left. But how? So…

    Its you. And you have to pay with less services,
    less government, less safety net, more of the same.

    Imagine going to the supermarket, the quality which
    has been falling, suddenly collapses. You were told
    that to maintain prices you had to give tax cuts to
    upper tax payers. Now those tax cuts have clearly not
    worked, have not been working. But instead of removing
    the bad incentives, instead of raising taxes on the
    high end, they now raise the prices!

    Not the wealthy who get more wealthy even during the GFC,
    no not them, they should always win whether a growing or
    falling economy.

    You see they are right to be angry, they were expecting
    to make the government smaller, easier to manage for them,
    and now this, its frustrates them so much, and the
    great unwashed must pay as they always pay somehow.

    The young and poor especially.

    You choose them, and they choose you to lose.

    A vote for Abbott is a vote for a unfair go.

    Now of course Abbott realizes this, and knows the Senete
    will send him back to the voters, and knows he’ll get
    a landslide for your toughness in the face of his pain.

  7. Clemgeopin 7

    Good points in the article, but the graph is outdated by 7 years, being for the year 2007!

  8. Jim 8

    Having the argument as to what percentage of GDP government spending should be is good. It is not just an argument that less spending is better. Country’s that have high or low percentage GDP to government spending are not necessarily better performers, in fact some where in the middle is probably about right. How ever the Labour and National Government’s over the last 25 years have differed in the respect with National Government decreasing spending as a percentage and Labour increasing spending as a percentage. When you continually here of government services being run down, for example state housing, or depleting the railway links, you tend to think the pendulum has swung to far to the right. Yes I do think roads and railway lines are public goods and not commercial entities. I also think a state house for life is a better aspiration that making money out of housing for the poor.

  9. blue leopard 9

    Excellent article with very lucid points, Jan Rivers, thank you for the heads up.

  10. Ennui 10

    Just love the abstract arithmetic concepts here…

    Do National intend to grow the economy to nearly double today’s whilst keeping Government expenditure capped?
    Do National intend to shrink the proportion of Government expenditures to 26% of today’s GDP?
    Do National want 26% to be the “standard rate” of Government GDP expenditure?

    Who knows? I suspect not Bill and John.

    PS Is this a requirement for the TPPA driven by some corporate privatiser somewhere in Wall St????

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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Cost of living support for over 1.4 million Kiwis
    About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Tenancy reviews for social housing restart
    Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary plan halted
    The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Cutting all that dam red tape
    Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track.  “Dam safety regulations ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Drought support extended to parts of North Island
    The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Passage of major tax bill welcomed
    The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Lifting economy through science, tertiary sectors
    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government announces Budget priorities
    The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.  The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government to consider accommodation solution
    The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government approves extension to Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care
    Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says.                                         “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • $18m boost for Kiwis travelling to health treatment
    The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says.   “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM’s Prizes for Space to showcase sector’s talent
    The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Concerns conveyed to China over cyber activity
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government.     “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry
    Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function.  The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Brynderwyns open for Easter
    State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech to the Infrastructure Funding & Financing Conference
    Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Parliamentary network breached by the PRC
    New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • NZ to provide support for Solomon Islands election
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ-EU FTA gains Royal Assent for 1 May entry to force
    The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union.    “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • COVID-19 inquiry attracts 11,000 submissions
    Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says.  “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Families to receive up to $75 a week help with ECE fees
    Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Unlocking a sustainable, low-emissions future
    A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Chief of Army thanked for his service
    Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders
    25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government commits nearly $3 million for period products in schools
    Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Speech – Making it easier to build.
    Good morning, it’s great to be here.   First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning.  I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Pacific youth to shine from boost to Polyfest
    Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • 2024 Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships announced
    ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Breast Cancer Foundation – Insights Conference
    Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Kiwi research soars to International Space Station
    New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Planning Institute
    Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Support for Northland emergency response centre
    The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed.  “Northland has faced a number ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Celebrating 20 years of Whakaata Māori
    New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Some commercial fishery catch limits increased
    Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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