Scrutiny Removed for National’s Better Public Service Results

New Zealand First says National is avoiding scrutiny of its ‘Better Public Service results’ by removing important social policy data previously available with the Ministry of Social Development’s Annual Statistical Report, not being published since 2012, and the cancellation of the New Zealand Social Policy Journal.

“The government does not want the public to understand the impact of its flawed policies, especially within provincial and regional New Zealand,” says Social Development Spokesperson Darroch Ball.

“This is a huge loss because removing this data and research means we must rely on National’s Better Public Service results. Yet there is no independent scrutiny of these results.

“Worse, the government’s own Social Policy Research and Evaluation Unit have not stepped into the void.

“With less and less information and data publicly available the only way to have confidence in results is to ensure that they are independently scrutinised by someone like the Auditor General. The pressure to achieve these targets could lead to manipulated outcomes.

“The Minister of Social Development Anne Tolley should stand by her results and get them audited or they will continue to be questioned,” Mr Ball said.

ENDS

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