Government’s arms flailing, with little cohesive direction

Forestry export volumes have grown more than the respective growth in revenue. (Image: File)

Fri, 22 Nov 2024

How many times have you heard, in weary frustration, that “one arm of government doesn’t know what the other arm is up to”? Well, here’s another addition to that litany.The Government has a stated goal to double the value of exports over the next 10 years. This goal is, presumably, being looked after by a suite of agencies including NZTE, MFAT, TPK, and MBIE. But there is also an arm of government that looks after the Government’s books – aka fiscal policy – called the Treasury. Unfortunately, the...

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