Government sidesteps economic watchdog

Some of the most expensive decisions ever made by a New Zealand government will receive no scrutiny from its economic watchdog after Cabinet suspended Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), due to Covid-19.

Government decisions are accompanied by an RIA published by Treasury, which analyses the impacts of any changes, including an estimate of how much they’re likely to cost.

Even when the Government moves quickly, it usually produces some form of assessment of regulatory changes. The gun buyback scheme, for example, was given an 18-page ‘‘Supplementary Analysis Report ‘ written by police and released by Treasury.

But a Cabinet minute from March 23 reveals the Government has decided to release itself from these obligations, where they relate to the impacts of coronavirus.

The minute said specifically that RIA requirements would be suspended for ‘‘regulatory proposals relating directly to Covid19, so that these proposals may proceed to Cabinet decisions without accompanying RIA at any time up until or on 31 August 2020’’.

The minute said that RIAs did not ‘‘provide for’’ decisions made swiftly to respond to emergencies. It also said that even deciding whether or not the proposals could proceed without an RIA ‘‘consumes scarce departmental and Treasury resources and time without adding value’’ and that rushing the process risked ‘‘bringing the RIA process into disrepute’’.

But with the Government moving to legislate some of the most expensive and significant laws in New Zealand history to respond to the pandemic, ACT MP David Seymour was worried the suspension of RIAs will mean that big spending decisions will receive less scrutiny at a time when both the Government and Parliament are moving at haste.