Now we know why Nicola Willis didn’t want experts in the room: changes complex OBEGAL calculation to make herself look less irresponsible

Now we know why Nicola Willis’s office seem to have worked with Treasury to change the criteria of experts able to attend the HYEFU lock up: it seems she didn’t want the CTU,  the Taxpayers’ Union, or other experts who would normally attend these things holding her to account for a Grant Robertson-style sleight-of-hand in how OBEGAL is calculated.

“This is the Finance Minister equivalent of cooking the books,” says James Ross, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Taxpayers’ Union.

“Nicola Willis is guilty of manipulating the fiscal indicators in the same way then Opposition Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis jumped up-and-down about when Grant Robertson changed the way Net Core-Crown Debt was calculated to make the numbers look better in 2022.  But at least Grant Robertson had the excuse of coming into line with international precedent.”

“The fact is, despite the Government being elected on a platform of cutting spending, Nicola Willis continues to spend even more than Grant Robertson, and kick the fiscal can down the road.  Changing measures, or banning those pointing out the elephants in the room, doesn’t avoid the fact Nicola Willis is not doing what she was elected to do.”