Sir William Birch leaves a formidable legacy of public service

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union joins New Zealanders in mourning the death of former Finance Minister Sir William Birch.

Taxpayers’ Union Chair and former Finance Minister Ruth Richardson said:

"Hold a mirror to Bill Birch and you hold a mirror to the transformation of the NZ economy.”

"He came to prominence as an architect of Think Big. Muldoon had the conviction that a government directed economy would work and Bill Birch made it happen. Only two major episodes of radical reform could arrest the inevitable slide of those policies gone horribly wrong."

"At a personal level Bill was a very decent man, loyal to a fault and hard working. He had the yoke of Winston Peters around his neck in the jacked up job of Treasurer but between Bill and Treasury sound policy was kept on track."

"Bill was the ultimate man for all political seasons."