Ready, set, fall

While government departments make their bids for Budget 2017, some are falling at the first hurdle, as Treasury and Finance Minister Bill English apply rules set when the global financial crisis hit. Chief among these is the requirement to produce fouryear plans, showing a “credible medium-term strategic plan”. Treasury officials say only 59 per cent of four-year plans met this test, making it difficult for many to make a credible bid for more money. Treasury, though, is ever-optimistic, saying this is better than last year, when only 48 per cent produced a credible plan, and only 44 per cent in 2013-14. To be fair, Treasury is equally harsh about the quality of its own advice. A review panel put the average grade for Treasury’s assessment of reports at 6.2 out of 10, short of its target score of 7. A paraphrased summary of the review could read, “The good advice was very, very good and the very bad advice was horrid”.