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Barbara Edmonds Leads Where Government Fails on Policy Scrutiny
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union welcomes reports that Labour’s finance spokesperson, Barbara Edmonds, has offered to support Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ efforts to establish an election policy costing unit.
Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said:
“Barbara Edmonds is on the right track with her members’ bill. It’s rare for the Taxpayers’ Union to call on the Government to spend money or create new offices, but this has long-term benefits to the taxpayer. We have been calling for this for more than a decade, and run our own pre-election policy costing unit, called the “Bribe-O-Meter” during various election cycles.”
“It’s true that Minister Willis’ proposal for a unit within the Public Service Commission cannot be considered truly independent. Our preference would be for it to be an officer of Parliament, like the Auditor General and the Parliamentary Commissioners.”
“We also favour a full service, Independent Fiscal Institute or Office of Budget Responsibility similar to that in the UK. Its role would be to expose the fiscal cliffs and budget assumptions that the public need clarity on to make informed voting decisions.”
“Governments continually kicking the budget surplus can down the road and running up debt is costing the country. A properly structured Independent Fiscal Institute would provide much greater transparency which promotes more accountability. Greater sunlight will lead to more responsible fiscal management that will deliver long-term savings far in excess of the Institute's cost.”
“Edmonds’ policy is a good recipe as a first step, and we will do everything we can to support this initiative.”
Party, Party, Politics and the Taxpayers' Purse
Political parties often engage musicians to drum up support during the election season. It’s the time of year when party hacks attempt to swell their numbers by using musicians as Trojan Horses for their political ideals. We all remember The Feelers’ song used in National Party adverts last election.
But what happens when taxpayer funds are propping up these artists?
The Party, Party put on by the Internet Party features numerous bands that have recently received significant grants of taxpayers’ money courtesy of NZ On Air.
Sons of Zion, State of Mind and PNC all received subsidies from NZ On Air as recently as late last year. The sums involved are not insignificant. A quick glance at the list of subsidies suggests that in the past few years these acts have received well over $200,000 of taxpayer funds.
Laughton Kora of L.A.B was also part of a group that received $245,000 NZ On Air funding to visit prisons for a Maori TV programme.
While we can all appreciate that bands are comprised of individuals with their own political beliefs, it seems wrong for bands to be enabled to support a political cause by being propped up by the taxpayer.