Another day and another leak.
And this time it calls into question the Government’s commitment to informed decision making.
From Thomas Coughlan at the Herald:
The new Government has been rocked by the leaking of another confidential paper to the Herald – the second to spill in just five days.
This paper, from Treasury, said the Government has quietly suspended Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIA) for some proposals in its 100-day plan, meaning they will not go through the proper process before becoming law.
The former Government also briefly suspended RIA during the pandemic.
The paper said the Cabinet agreed that proposals that “solely repeal legislation” and “not seeking approval for new policy” will have the requirement for a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS – another name for an RIA) “suspended”.
This means that projects, including the potential repeal of Fair Pay Agreements, or the legislation underpinning the Government’s Smokefree legislation, will not get the traditional level of regulatory scrutiny.
…
The decision to suspend RIS means some of the the promises to repeal the former Government’s agenda will face almost no scrutiny, given the new Government intends to repeal some things, like FPAs, under urgency.
RIS requirements are staying for “new proposals” in the 100-day plan, however they are having their formal quality assurance requirement scrapped.
I guess they were burned after the first leak showed that Brooke Van Velden was not only totally indifferent to the effects of reversing the Fair Wage policy on women, Māori and Pasifika, she was also shown to ignore official advice and she was also caught out telling porkies.
What does a Government do? Make sure that it has a robust response to pubic service criticisms of proposed policy changes? Or how about not even get the advice in the first place.
The Government is claiming that it is working at pace and has no time for such pesky reviews to take place. But the pace is of its own making. And some of the changes could be made at a more careful pace.
For instance the change to the Smoke Free legislation can and should be taken at a more leisurely pace so that the implications and effects can be properly understood. The only possible reason to ram it through is get the tax take quicker. More lung cancer to fund tax cuts for landlords.
And the Fair Pay legislation could also be put through a proper process. So that the people of New Zealand can then understand that a Government that says it is intent on addressing cost of living pressures is actually undermining a policy that will improve the plight of skilled but underpaid workers.
But as shown by this recent leak these do not worry the current Government. It prefers to engage in doctrinaire attacks on good policies at the behest of its funders.
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