Jacinda Arden shouldn't just trim, she should scrap Callaghan Innovation

22 AUGUST 2017 - The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming Labour Leader Jacinda Ardern’s acknowledgement that Callaghan Innovation doesn’t provide companies with real value or boost R&D, as reported by NBR yesterday ($).

Jordan Williams, Executive Director of the Taxpayers’ Union, says, “Politicians and bureaucrats picking favourites, such as the grants handed out at Callaghan Innovation, are a waste of money. The OECD has even argued that these schemes crowd out more productive private R&D.”

“Ms Arden is right to point out hand-picked R&D grants are flawed, so we can’t work out why her spokesperson, Dr Megan Woods, said in the same article that there 'will always be a place for' an R&D grants agency under an Ardern Government.”

“An obvious taxpayer-friendly policy for Ms Ardern to campaign on would be to dismantle Steven Joyce’s corporate welfare empire and commit to scrapping Callaghan Innovation’s wasteful grant programmes."

"That is certainly something our 26,000 members and supporters would endorse.”

ENDS

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