8. Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
What progress has he made on line by line reviews, and what are his priorities for the next 12 months?
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) Link to this
As I said in the Budget, departmental reviews have freed up $2 billion over the next 4 years. This money is being put back into Government priorities such as boosting front-line services by training more doctors and nurses and employing more police and probation officers. Over the next 12 months we will continue to focus on ensuring that front-line services are improved, and that resources are shifted from back-office functions to front-line services.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
Did the cut to adult and community education target the lowest-value expenditure; if not, will the Minister give an example of lower-value expenditure?
The departmental chief executives sat alongside brand new Ministers and worked through the processes that were required for the Budget. The reviews are largely driven by the judgment of those who are much closer to front-line services, and reflect clearly expressed Government priorities.
Hon Sir Roger Douglas Link to this
Why has the Minister of Finance made line by line reviews his top priority, when surely the more important question is whether agencies such as the Families Commission, the Charities Commission, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and the Ministry of Youth Affairs should even exist; if they should exist, which of their functions should continue—for example, $3 million on racing sponsorship, $13 million on the Contestable Waste Minimisation Fund, and $9 million on strengthening relationships with Māori on brokerage—and if those functions should continue, can we deliver the service more efficiently through competition?
Those are all very good questions that I hope the departments are asking themselves. But the Government is not focusing on small agencies; we are focusing on large ones, like the Accident Compensation Corporation. The liability to the taxpayer and the levy payer has got completely out of control, because of the reckless management of the previous Government; it now amounts to almost $24 billion. Getting that under control will have more impact than a discussion on the Ministry of Youth Affairs.
Lynne PillayDid the cuts to physiotherapy for the most disabled children in our schools target the lowest-value expenditure; if not, will the Minister give an example of lower-value expenditure?
I covered in answers to an earlier question the issue of special education. The Government made it clear that it felt that special education was a high priority; that is why it allocated an additional $51 million so that another 1,000 young people with challenges would be able to get the support they need.
Carmel SepuloniDid the cut to the training incentive allowance, which was designed to assist beneficiaries in gaining skills and employment, target the lowest-value expenditure; if not, will the Minister give an example of lower-value expenditure?