Monday, April 26, 2004
Treasury discussion paper critical of government financial policies
The NZ government comes in for quite a bit of criticism in a new document from the government’s principle economic advisory group – the Treasury.
The paper effectively praises the economic reforms of the 1980s and early 90s, which have been criticised by the current Prime Minister Helen Clark.
The report also speaks of growing discomfort about the direction in which Labour is now heading. Recent policies which it sees as potentially damaging include concerns about the coming tax cuts in the Budget, employment legislation, infrastructure failures, education legislation, competition regulation and the Resource Management Act.
It says if New Zealand is to climb back into parity with other OECD countries, a prime requirement is strong property rights – something which is under direct threat from the present government. (One example is the plan to allow the public recreational access to farmers’ property, while making the farmers liable for any problems that arise.)
The whole scenario regarding the issue of the paper (first written last November, but only just released) raises some interesting questions. The authors say they want to stimulate public debate. They are obviously not reading from the same script as the Minister of Finance. Is this is a fight to recapture economic ideology from the socialist-minded government?
The NZ government comes in for quite a bit of criticism in a new document from the government’s principle economic advisory group – the Treasury.
The paper effectively praises the economic reforms of the 1980s and early 90s, which have been criticised by the current Prime Minister Helen Clark.
The report also speaks of growing discomfort about the direction in which Labour is now heading. Recent policies which it sees as potentially damaging include concerns about the coming tax cuts in the Budget, employment legislation, infrastructure failures, education legislation, competition regulation and the Resource Management Act.
It says if New Zealand is to climb back into parity with other OECD countries, a prime requirement is strong property rights – something which is under direct threat from the present government. (One example is the plan to allow the public recreational access to farmers’ property, while making the farmers liable for any problems that arise.)
The whole scenario regarding the issue of the paper (first written last November, but only just released) raises some interesting questions. The authors say they want to stimulate public debate. They are obviously not reading from the same script as the Minister of Finance. Is this is a fight to recapture economic ideology from the socialist-minded government?
