Media statement
For immediate release
10 July 2008

Dunne – Transparency essential in Govt spending

Greater public transparency in how the Government and government departments spend money is essential says UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne.

“Current perception is that government spends too much money on non-essential services and is neglecting frontline staff such as police, teachers and doctors,” said Mr Dunne

UnitedFuture agrees wholeheartedly with the ANZ report, which calls for the Government to publish regular statistics on the mix and quality of its spending.

“Such accountability is essential if we wish to rebuild a level of community confidence in the public service.”

“The New Zealand taxpayer deserves to know where their money is allocated; how much of it is spent on backroom staff in areas such as policy research and how much actually goes into frontline services.”

“While it is possible to access information relating to departmental spending, the bureaucratic hoops that must be jumped through preclude all but the most motivated from doing so.”

“If the public sector is to regain the trust of New Zealanders it needs to be more open about how it spends its money, which in turn will make governments a lot more accountable for their own policies.”

“One must remember that a government department can only do what it is tasked with through the policy of the present government,” said Mr Dunne.

ENDS

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