Second Govt leak in five days

The new Government has been rocked by the leaking of another confidential paper to the Herald — the second to spill in just five days.

This paper, from Treasury, said the Government had quietly suspended Regulatory Impact Analyses ( RIA) for some proposals in its 100- day plan, meaning they would not go through the proper process before becoming law.

The former Government also briefly suspended RIA during the Covid- 19 pandemic.

The paper said the Cabinet agreed that proposals that “solely repeal legislation” and were “not seeking approval for new policy” will have the requirement for a Regulatory Impact Statement ( RIS — another name for an RIA) “suspended”.

This means that projects, including the potential repeal of Fair Pay Agreements, or the legislation underpinning the Government’s smokefree legislation, will not get the usual level of regulatory scrutiny.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the new Government was taking a similar approach to the last Government when it took office in 2017.

“The commitments laid out in the 100- day plan were campaigned on and the new Government is getting on with delivering them. A truncated process for Regulatory Impact Statements is appropriate in this context,” Willis said. “Our new Government i s proud of the work we are doing to deliver the change New Zealanders voted for.”

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the new Government was leaky.

“It appears Christopher Luxon is overseeing a Government that has not only leaked for the second time in a week, but also thinks it’s above scrutiny,” he said. “Earlier this week . . . Luxon and his coalition Government were ignoring official advice around Fair Pay Agreements, now they’re saying they don’t want advice.”

This week, a Cabinet paper was leaked to Newshub and the Herald, on the decision to scrap Fair Pay Agreements. It is exceedingly rare for Cabinet papers to leak, and leaks of Treasury papers are rare too.