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Robertson to oversee 'Implementation Unit' to be set-up to ensure the Government delivers on its major policy initiatives

Robertson to oversee 'Implementation Unit' to be set-up to ensure the Government delivers on its major policy initiatives
Grant Robertson. Getty Images.

The Government is committing to setting up an “Implementation Unit” to ensure it implements complex policies.

The unit will sit within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and will be overseen by Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson.

Delivering a pre-Budget speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Robertson said: “The Unit will be funded through Budget 2021 and will monitor and support implementation of a small number of critical initiatives, particularly where multiple agencies are involved in the work.

“This includes areas such as mental health, infrastructure, housing and climate change mitigation. The Unit will report to me as Deputy Prime Minister, and will engage closely with Minister’s offices."

The idea is for the Implementation Unit to be a permanent fixture, made up of about five staff. 

“At a time, in the wake of COVID-19, where the Government is playing a much greater role in supporting the economy and investing for the future, it is crucial that we ensure that we are getting value for money from every dollar of spending, and that across the public service initiatives are being delivered in a way that supports our economic recovery.”

Here is a copy of Robertson's speech in full:

Thank you for the invitation to speak today, it is great to be here.  I mean that both sincerely and literally. For this equivalent speech last year I took part virtually, beaming in from the Beehive Theatrette with only a socially distanced press gallery bearing silent witness. You are a more lively and friendly crowd already.

We have certainly come a long way since that event, although this Budget will still be a COVID Budget in a number of ways which I will return to shortly. When I delivered the speech last year we were still at Level 3. Many businesses were not able to operate or were doing so in the most trying of circumstances. Unemployment was still being forecast to get close to double digits and there were dire predictions about what would happen to almost every sector in the economy.

As the story has unfolded New Zealand’s economy has proved to be resilient. That is not to diminish the experience of those businesses, particularly in exposed sectors such as tourism, events, international education and hospitality, who have done and continue to do it tough. But overall we can point to a number of positives.

In terms of unemployment and GDP, New Zealand is strongly positioned relative to the countries that we normally compare ourselves to. 

The economy was 0.9 percent below where it was in the December quarter compared to the December quarter pre-COVID. Australia dropped by 1.1 percent, United States by 2.4 percent, the United Kingdom by 7.3 percent and Japan by 1.3 percent.

Our unemployment rate has fallen to 4.9 percent, surprising most economic observers who were expecting a modest increase. The latest data is due out this week, and I expect the number will bounce around a bit. But we still compare favourably with the average jobless rate across the OECD at 6.7 percent. Our nearest neighbour, Australia, has an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent. It is a remarkable turnaround that for a number of employers it is lack of available staff that is the issue, not whether to lay anyone off.

One of the things that is sometimes easy to forget is that while our borders have been closed to people, our goods are still getting out to the world, partly through the government’s underwriting of air freight services through the last year.

Even in the tough times of COVID consumers all around the world still need what New Zealand sells. Exports remain resilient, with annual sales of logs, fruit and wine rising while dairy and meat holding up well. Global demand for New Zealand’s dairy products continues to be high, with Fonterra expecting to pay $7.30 to $7.90 a kilo of milk solids. This will pump more than $11.5 billion into the economy. Firms also appear willing to invest more on the back of an improving environment, with imports of capital goods strengthening.

New Zealand’s success has been recognised, not just in how we have handled the virus, but also in our economic resilience.  Standard and Poor’s gave New Zealand the first ratings upgrade of any economy since the pandemic began and the first for New Zealand since 2003. And in the last couple of weeks Moody’s reported on the New Zealand economy, maintaining our AAA rating and noting our “very strong institutions and policy effectiveness”, along with our “robust fiscal position when compared with its peers”.

But for all of this resilience, we are still at a difficult period in the recovery from COVID-19. Even with vaccine rollouts picking up pace around the globe, the devastating impacts of the pandemic are all too real in India and other nations around the world.

The on-going economic impact is uncertain and most forecasts continue to emphasise the likelihood of continued volatility. Supply chain issues are set to affect the economy for much of the rest of this year, and potentially into next year as well.

For all these reasons it is essential that our top priority is that which the Prime Minister outlined at the start of this term: sticking to our plan of keeping New Zealanders safe from COVID-19. That means a continuing focus on keeping our borders secure, while opening up carefully as we have done with the Trans-Tasman Bubble and the Cook Islands. 

It also means rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine to meet our target that every New Zealander who chooses to be vaccinated will be by the end of the year. In addition to its importance in keeping New Zealanders safe, the vaccine is an important part of our economic strategy.

As our vaccination rates ramp up, we will be less likely to have to resort to further Alert Level changes. It will also provide additional opportunities to safely open up travel to and from a wider range of countries.

Against the backdrop of COVID, Budget 2021 will take a balanced approach that continues to emphasise investment where it is needed most, alongside careful fiscal management.

Our stronger than expected economic performance means we have more options than we had expected to invest in critical services, but we are also mindful that we have an obligation to future generations to prioritise spending and over time reduce the debt we incurred fighting a one in one hundred year economic shock.

There were no costless decisions in our response to COVID-19.  With hindsight there are many views as to what we could have done differently. But I stand by our approach. We moved swiftly to save lives and livelihoods. Programmes like the wage subsidy scheme saved jobs and businesses and we set ourselves up to build back better. It was expensive, it was not perfect, but it has given us a head start we are determined to follow through on.

One by-product of the better than expected economic outcomes is that not all funding allocated in the COVID Response and Recovery Fund has been spent.

As part of the Budget preparation I asked each Minister to look again at the areas of the COVID spending for which they were responsible to see if it was all still needed or is still a priority, and whether underspends could be reprioritised. This exercise has yielded around $926 million worth of savings. I am pleased that we have found these savings, and they can be returned to the fund to aid our recovery from COVID-19 and targeted to where it is needed the most.

This will be a Recovery Budget. I very much see the three Budgets that I will deliver this term as a package. It is simply not possible to fulfil every promise or commitment that we made or address all of our long term challenges in a single Budget. But we do have an opportunity to make real progress across this term on the core priorities of the Government as we recover and rebuild.

For this term of Government we have three core goals. In addition to keeping New Zealanders safe from COVID-19, we are focused on accelerating our economic recovery and addressing the big three foundational challenges, housing affordability, climate change and child wellbeing.  

The Government is determined that we will deliver on these core priorities. To that end the Prime Minister has asked me to lead the establishment an Implementation Unit based in her department. 

The Unit will be funded through Budget 2021 and will monitor and support implementation of a small number of critical initiatives, particularly where multiple agencies are involved in the work. This includes areas such as mental health, infrastructure, housing and climate change mitigation. The Unit will report to me as Deputy Prime Minister, and will engage closely with Minister’s offices.

 At a time, in the wake of COVID-19, where the Government is playing a much greater role in supporting the economy and investing for the future, it is crucial that we ensure that we are getting value for money from every dollar of spending, and that across the public service initiatives are being delivered in a way that supports our economic recovery.  

Accelerating our Economic Recovery

As I have already noted, New Zealand’s economic recovery has exceeded every forecast. Now is the time to build on the hard work of business and workers, and accelerate our recovery to move more quickly to our goal of a productive, sustainable and inclusive economy.

Over the three Budgets of this term there will be a continued focus in the areas that we know drive productivity - infrastructure, skills, research and innovation, trade connections and export growth. I want to particularly highlight the success we have had in skills and training as part of our COVID response.

Since we made apprenticeships and targeted trade training free on the 1st of July last year more than 100, 000 people have taken advantage of the programme. This includes nearly 58,000 apprentices in areas from construction to community health care. We have seen significant growth in women and older New Zealanders in these numbers. This is the kind of COVID response that will allow our recovery to continue at pace.

We also want to grasp the opportunities of adding value to the industries we have and taking the step into areas where we see our sustainable future. Industry Transformation Plans in agritech, the digital economy and advanced manufacturing are leading the way. We continue to develop our strategies for space technology, hydrogen and other renewable energy technologies.

The acceleration of our recovery also needs to look at some of the challenges we face post COVID. Tourism is a particular example.  Now is the opportunity to look to reset this industry. Pre-COVID many in the industry and outside were concerned that the growth in tourist numbers was not sustainable, from an economic or environmental perspective.

 Minister Stuart Nash is now working with the sector on a new model that will lift the value of what we offer and working to put in place the infrastructure for the industry to thrive when tourists return. This will take time and the industry will look different when it does happen, but there is a future.

Another part of the New Zealand economic story that is in focus as we recover from COVID-19 is immigration. Clearly inward migration is well below forecast and will be so for some time. We are working with sectors particularly affected to both ensure some workers can still come to New Zealand but also to train and employ those who are already here to fill these roles.

Beyond the immediate term, the Government believes that immigration will continue to play an important part in our economy in years to come. We will continue to be strengthened economically and socially by people who come here to fill essential skills gaps and make their lives here.

But we also know that in some sectors immigration has seen an entrenchment of low wages and a failure to make technological changes that will improve productivity. Minister Kris Faafoi has work under way to look again at our overall immigration settings and policies.

To support that he and I have asked the Productivity Commission to focus on immigration for its next inquiry. The terms of reference were released yesterday. It is time for the country to have a mature debate about immigration, its positives and negatives, and I welcome Dr Nana and his team being involved in this work.

Foundational Challenges

The three Budgets this term will seek to make significant progress in addressing foundational challenges in our economy. 

In March we announced a significant package of housing initiatives to address both demand and supply issues, including a $3.8 billion package to accelerate infrastructure development. Turning around a housing crisis decades in the making will take time, but we are committed to improving affordability and accessibility of housing.

The release of the report of the Independent Climate Commission marks a pivotal moment in our transition to a low carbon economy.  Almost every sector of our economy is affected by the carbon budgets that have been outlined by the Commission.

I will have more to say at Budget time about our approach to meeting the targets we have set, but we will continue to look for not just the measures we must take to reduce emissions but the possibilities and opportunities that exist to create high paying and sustainable jobs as we make that transition.

Good progress has been made in the area of child wellbeing, with more than 40,000 children lifted out of poverty since we came into office using the after-housing costs measure.

There is of course always more to do here, but initiatives such as the Families Package, the Winter Energy Payment, indexing benefits to wage growth and significantly increasing the amount those on benefits can earn before it begins to abate are making a real difference.

Alongside these important areas of focus the Government also has a number of essential pieces of structural reform underway. As recently announced we are modernising our health system to ensure quality services are provided wherever you live in New Zealand.

We are also overhauling our planning systems through the replacement of the RMA and we are reforming the way we manage water through our Three Waters Reform programme. Taken on their own each of these reforms are significant, together they represent a government not afraid to make changes for the long term benefit of New Zealanders.

From a fiscal perspective Budget 2021 will continue our careful and balanced approach. The levels of debt that we have taken on to save New Zealanders’ lives and livelihoods are projected to reduce from the middle of the decade. We are in a good position to handle the debt we have taken on. 

Interest rates are low and the HYEFU released in December showed that our debt servicing costs across the forecast period remain less than one percent of GDP - below where they were before COVID despite the significant increase in borrowing. Our fiscal objective as outlined in the Budget Policy Statement remains to stabilise debt by the mid-2020s, and then reduce it as conditions permit. Even at their elevated levels our debt position is significantly better than almost every country we compare ourselves too.

On an internationally comparable basis of General Government net debt that is produced by the IMF, New Zealand’s current levels of net debt are slightly below 22 percent of GDP. This is less than half of Australia’s level of close to 49 percent, and some way away from the United Kingdom at 97 percent and the United States at 109 percent. 

As a small economy subject to external shocks, it is sensible that we look to reduce our public debt as the economy returns to full health.

However, any attempt to hasten this runs the risk of undermining the recovery. A turn to austerity measures will simply mean it takes longer for us to rebuild society in pursuit of numerical goals that ignore the real world we are living in. It is all about getting the balance right, which we have shown through the COVID period that we can do. We will move to reduce debt and return to surplus as a responsible government should, but not at the expense of our people or the hard won stability and security from our COVID response.

In conclusion, I would return to my comments at the beginning of the speech. Budget 2021 will still be a COVID Budget. While it will not have the large scale and urgent response required in 2020 it still needs to recognise that the health and economic impacts of the pandemic are still being felt and will be for some time to come.

Like every Budget there are hard choices to be made. We continue to insist that budget initiatives are of a high-standard in terms of value for money, and we will be making sure that new spending is directed towards the greatest need. 

We have an excellent opportunity to secure the recovery in a way that gives every New Zealander a fair go, and to deal with the debt that we have incurred along the way through accelerating the growth of a sustainable, more productive economy.

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79 Comments

Great move, not sure though it should be overseen by the government rather than an independent entity but great move

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Great move, and one Grant Robertson seems be caught un-shovel ready & too definitive (again).
It worked as a placebo.

Only half promised shovel-ready jobs will be delivered

https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300289924/only-half-promised-sh…

Just over half as many people will be employed in jobs created by the Government’s “shovel-ready” infrastructure programme after the Government slashed forecast jobs created by the scheme to just 11,740.

Ahead of the election, the Government had promised “more than 20,000” jobs would be created by the infrastructure projects, which were announced to kick-start the economy following the Covid lockdown.

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I guess they've come to realise that a lot of the committed funding will be soaked up by contractors in running the arduous design, consultation and consenting processes, which is followed by a series of redesign, re-consultation and re-consenting processes.

Kick in the nuts to the economy than a kickstart!

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Question for us voters, is at what point does an Election/Policy "Promise" move from electioneering... to false advertising... to fraud?

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Hard not to see this as a massive blow to the credibility of the civil service and the realism of policies promoted by certain parties in a bid to get elected, most of which were questioned at the time as having no basis in reality to begin with.

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Obviously the government is frustrated with, and distrustful of the public service. Can’t say I blame them actually. Thus rides forth our public servants, the impenetrable impervious Brown Cardigan Brigade “Omnes Auctoritate Nihil Responsabilitas.” But at least this government trying and if they can make some positive impact, I will take my hat off to them.

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Agree. It appears that the government servants have stymied and dragged their feet on everything. It is refreshing when the parliamentarians take a strong initiative, just ignore the public servants and tell them to get on and do what they are told. At times like this, Labour start to look competent.
I think that the whole nature and culture of the public service needs an enormous shake up. Presently they seem lax, bloated and can pretty much do what they like without any consequences. They need to be educated and dragged to a position where they are staffed with people who are disciplined, on the ball and accountable.

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like people in the private sector, no free lunch here, you snooze you lose.

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Yet in government you can snooze. Government roles attract certain types of people. Funding is guaranteed every year and you get paid regardless of performance. In the private sector if net-net you cost your company more than you earn them then you're out the door. In govt you get people who just meander knowing that they're going to get paid regardless and also the longer they stay there the higher they'll climb. You don't actually have to be good at your job in govt institutions, just hang around long enough. Obviously not all govt employees but the 'free loader' mentality is strong on govt.

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Case in point the CV19 lockdown etc. What percentage of public servants, at both national & local level, lost earnings and/or employment compared to the private sector?

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Why do they need Implimentation Unit.

Is it to hide behind, when needed and for passing the responsibility or to pass the blame. It can also be used to delay with their approach of 'Waiting for Advise'.

They have majority in parlinent (rare opportunity) to act - are they not confident of themselves.

Motive - why have one as it could be used to delay and avoid, where government has no intent to act OR may be Bureaucrats and so called officials and experts surrounding them giving a hard time.

Only time will tell if it used for the purpose as mentioned or ......

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Why do they need Implimentation Unit.

This is how bureaucracies work. There will also be consultants bought in to set it all up I expect. Same consultants will likely have come from the bureaucracy at some time in the past.

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Don't forget that these 'expert' consultants come at a cost of $8k per week each. Nice for them.

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Isn't the government meant to be an implementation unit? Isn't that why we vote?

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No, we pay taxes for working group reports and case studies to be bounced around desks in Wellington and endlessly rewritten.

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Sir Humphrey would be proud.......Working groups, committees, royal commissions. Implementation Unit.....How about some action and less politicking. Just bloody well do your jobs. I am gobsmacked by the cheek of this. Masters of Handball.

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The government being an implementation unit? That's a good one Rosenstein, have you not heard about 100'000 affordable homes? No no no, the governments are promises units, implementation... much less so

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This is the kind of article you would expect to find on The Onion.

Absolutely unbelievable, you just have to laugh.

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Why laugh, Tom

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Yes it reads like satire.

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As a labour voter, I find this risible.
All Labour now seems to do, in its infinite caution and dithering, is CONSULT.
And launch reviews and talk about conversations in a space.
In short, techno-neutered babble of management speak.
Too scared to do anything radical, let alone suggest a shift of POWER or WEALTH to the lower half of the population. This has been the habitual pathway all supposedly Left wing governments have followed in UK, USA and EU, and also NZ for 60 years and is the reason Trump got so many working class votes.
Labour is too concerned with appearing to look right on and diverse and forgets that it is supposed to be about changing things for the better for those who have the least. Not being PC and liberal for minorities or genders or ethnicities. No wonder Greens at 13.5% in latest poll and National up to nearly 30%.
Lots of borrowing they are not spending; subsidising home owners and doing b all for renters.
Failing to address need for good quality 3 bed housing for people who will not ever afford a house and are not poor enough to get social housing. Not uprating benefits sufficiently, despite 2 year consult advisory body telling them to and failing to address main cause of poverty which is rents eating into inadequate median wages.
In short, piss poor, weak and too nice.

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Labour Government = "Waiting for Advise"and "Announcement to announce the date of next announcement"

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After reading this angry diatribe from a Labour voter, you have to ask: "why are you a Labour voter?"

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rastus was a national voter and then became a labour voter. rastus then became a TOP voter.
History had taught rastus that main parties have too much vested in the status quo and will only do more of the same.
More should be like rastus and vote for a minor party.

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Spectators followed the same path. National supporter, moved to Labour when they talked of tackling housing and inequality, now TOP supporter when realised neither of those two will do anything required if it threatens their power. MMP is supposed to allow minority parties some opportunity to influence so I'm hoping TOP can get that 5% and try push the next govt to do what's required for our country regardless of how unpopular it might be to their voting base.

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I confidently predict that it will not take too long for rastus to become disillusioned with TOP and and become an voter.

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Ask around and you won't find many people who will admit they voted Labour. Time for a snap Election before it is too late for New Zealand

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Will be activating my own implementation unit come next election.

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Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to consult with stakeholders beforehand, you may not have enough time to do this pre election.

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He hasn't even got to publishing the outcome of his initial inquiry, it's way too early to talk about public consultations. That's at least a decade away.

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Government tries, feebly to pull levers and nothing happens.
Too many consults, advisory twerps and niceness and PC.
Too many quangos and committees and MPs, boards and bureaucracy.
For gods sake: DO SOMETHING.
No chance of being re-elected

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You would think so, but then there is no opposition.

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not sure on the last part -- after all if you are a wealthy homeowner -- this government has delivered you the biggest increases in your asset values in a generation -- 160,000 people voted national candidate and labour party vote last time ( yes to keep greens out) and in reality - who do you trust more to keep delivering higher inequality, house and asset price increases ..... My moneys on the Grant and Jacinda show!

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Every chance of being elected as the main opposition party is a shambles and 50% of people are under an enchantment spell cast upon them by JA.

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Enchanted by a commie trojan horse, a cult of personality

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18% of NZ's workforce are employed directly by the public sector. Who do you think the bulk of them cast their party vote for?

The conflict of interest at play here is so mind-boggling that Labour-Greens, back in 2018, were working on a $500 taxpayer-funded bonus for public workers to join PSA in its previous term, until this ridiculous proposal got kicked out by NZ First.

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"No chance of being re-elected"

Funny heard that all of last year too

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Hitler had one of these units too and it was run by a 'fun' guy named Gobels! It was known as the Ministry of Nazi Propaganda. Or otherwise known as"The Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Ministry".

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Isn’t that called the Executive Branch of Government?

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I know what will work, lets set up another government department to monitor another government department, that way we will be even more efficient in delivering...NOTHING.

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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

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Quo Vadis?

We are on the road to nowhere.

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A few years ago I was offered a very high profile job within a Govt entity. I had just returned from overseas after completing some extremely large projects (all on time & under budget). I was told at the interview I would have "amazing powers" & "virtually unlimited authority". However, when I asked for the detail around these comments, I was told that this had yet to be defined. I then asked a hyperthetical question of my future boss - if a Minister comes to him and says "I met xxxx at the rugby and he needs you to back off, what would your answer be?" He just gave me a blank stare and needless to say, I turned down the job. Good luck to whomever they appoint.

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Sadly, to many people, that would be a dream job.

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You're right Hamish, but how the heck can ANYONE get anything done while dealing with all the PC BS of Govt.

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But who will ensure this policy gets implemented?

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Thats the Delivery Unit, yet to be announced.

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Don't forget post-natal follow up unit.

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This is why owning a rental property within walking distance of the Wellington CBD is a gold mine. The stream of unnecessary highly-paid government drones is endless, and all come pre-vetted by the Police.

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This has to be the most amusing news of this year.

I suspect the most obvious function of the "implementation unit" is to help the government shield all the criticism.

It should be the most scapegoated department in NZ history once being setup.

hahahahahahahhaah

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Probably headed by David Cunliffe then

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Aren't the ministers themselves supposed to be the "implementation" arm of government policy??? The cabinet is already supposed to be an implementation unit as part of the Executive Branch! Are they just saying "All our ministers are basically useless and couldn't manage their way out of a paper bag, so it's all on Grant"?

Won't this just turn into another ongoing working group, sticking in another layer between the decision makers and the people on the ground?

I had to check that the date wasn't April the 1st!

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Dear NZ Public Jacinda and I would like to announce that after 4 years, we realise that we don't have a single competent minister capable of doing anything remotely like their job and delivering our pie in the sky, virtue signaling utopic promises. SO we are setting up a unit that will take at least three more years to report on the situation -- and an announcement will be forthcoming on its progress around late november 2023 - a week after the next election

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The structure could not be any funnier. Party promises a lot and gets elected. Then the said party appoints a minion to remind them that they need to implement such promises. A reminder of kind. As if the government did not do it because they forgot about it. Buy your self a task note Robertson.

For this to be credible, such a unit must have the power to a) evaluate the government performance against promises and 2) in case of not meeting specific promises of significance to call for an early election. That would mean there is a real cost for false promising. Such unit cannot be appointed by the government, needless to say.

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Oh no, no, no. You got this all wrong. This department will be investigating the peasants who did not do as they were instructed. Not government, they have the authority of the people and shall not be questioned.

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The title should be: Robertson ANNOUNCES implementing unit. And does he have faith in his own civil service, and if not why not?

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I wonder if the perceived need for an Implementation Unit is because many government departments are full of people who have been there forever, are highly resistant to change, and are difficult/impossible to fire?

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Or that politicians appointed as ministers know next to nothing about their portfolio, so whatever they promise is simply lies meant to win the election, and then the game of blame someone for that begins?
Many of the CEOs and other high flying public servants are appointed by Labour government.

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Is it a committee?

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This is the working group, the committee comes later. They consider the findings of the working group, then issue a report.

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Wait. I thought the committee commissioned a report, then got a working group to write it.

No wait. Don't the working group set up a committee to write the report, then the committee set up sub-committees to ...

Sorry, got it now. A Committee sets up sub committees, that then each commission a report to be written by a workgroup, who then engage think tanks to source the material.

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Is an additional layer of complexity and bureaucracy likely to improve Government policy delivery? Most of what we've learned about organisational management since the second world war has focused on simplification of hierarchy and empowering people to achieve measurable objectives. It seems apparent to me that adding more staff to an underperforming organisation is likely to just be digging a bigger hole.

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A few words in no particular order can explain why they need this new unit.
Chew, can,off,bitten,they,than,more.
In other words they told porkies at both elections and the sheeple lapped it up.

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Hopefully they have a contact address to dob in specuvestors that buy and sell within the taxable time frame, just in case they are blind to whats going on.

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They are. Words, not actions.

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It's all very Kafkaesque.

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Love that adjective. Kafka would understand NZ in 2021.

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Maybe Mr Robinson has been reading Barber's book How To Run A Government ? memorable "quote" in there from Charles 1st in his trial: "There is much to the doing then bidding it be done"

https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/how-to-run-a-government-9780141979588

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I enjoy the comments section! Added to my reading list.

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Why do they need any unit to do what they are suppose to do.

Problem with Jacinda Arden government is that she wants to please everyone and in doing it they screw up like the housing policy...good efforts but stopped half way despite knowing that to contain the crisis DTI and stopping interest only loan is must and for that very reason got cold feet and used delaying tactics....

They should get their priorities right otherwise no implementation unit will help as a matter of fact if we're confident of themselves and not confused would not have had the need to have implementation unit.

Implementation unit will also help if their prioritise / goal are clear.

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Time has come to just do it themselves i think - bring back the ministry of works, get them building the infrastructure we need.

Both party's have failed us in delivery:

Labour - Shovel Ready Projects, Kiwibuild etc

National - Transmission Gulley, Christchurch Rebuild etc

The whole system is set up to allow the government of the day deliver some excellent PR, but ultimately with very little to show for it. Its only when they are forced to do actual work quickly such as when a global pandemic comes along.

I don't see any value in playing the my party is great at this but yours isn't game, its pointless. Both main parties are terrible at delivering anything remotely as promised and both have terrible track records. The current system needs to be torn up. To many people make too much money and are incentivised to keep projects in the PR, design, investigation and tendering phases of a project. Time to bring it all back in house. Cut out the middle men and get back to just getting shit done.

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How exactly do you become a Cabinet Minister? Do you need any real world skills or experience that would be useful to actually deliver on a government policy? It seems the vast majority of them would fail to deliver a pizza. Even if they were given a fully functioning Domino's franchise.

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I think you can see the pathways Labour cabinet ministers come by. Pretty well defined, if you are a union official you are halfway there already.

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I think you can see the pathways Labour cabinet ministers come by. Pretty well defined, if you are a union official you are halfway there already.

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"Transformational"

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Its a pity the government no longer does business cases to justify their decision making.

What are the estimated benefits / costs for the implementation unit over what period & what scope?

The interest deductibility change introduced in March will provide relatively small benefits to first home buyers compared to the huge additional economic & social costs that will be put on renters & those in emergency accommodation.

If a business case had been required to justify the interest deductibility decision it would never have got off the ground because of the large negative benefit/cost ratio.

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The idiotic neoliberal fetish about public debt reducing to 20% or less and running public surpluses continues.

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Debt for infrastructure would be fine. Most Kiwis would approve of it. Whether this lot are capable of making that happen or not is entirely up for debate. The debt rules might be stupid but at least it stops incompetent ministers going on spending sprees that end up with little to show for it.

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Who is going to make sure the Implementation unit does its job?

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