Independent Parliamentary Budget Office is a victory for taxpayers
20 AUGUST 2019

The Government’s decision to establish and independent Parliamentary Budget Office, outside of Treasury, is a taxpayer victory and will improve democracy, says the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union.

Taxpayers' Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “It's not often we support new spending initiatives, but this one is a goodie that we’ve been backing for years. The operation of the Office should actually save taxpayers money in the long run: political parties will be less likely to commit to low-value spending when the effect on taxpayers is clear.”

“We've pushed for this Office ever since we launched our popular Bribe-o-meter, and were pleased to see the Green Party join the cause. However, we were less supportive of the Greens’ plans to house the unit inside Treasury, instead of as an independent office of Parliament. Taxpayers will welcome the decision to rectify this, ensuring costings are not biased by the Government of the day.”

ENDS

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