“ACT enthusiastically welcomes a debate on shuttering redundant government entities,” says ACT Public Service spokesperson Todd Stephenson after the Public Service Commissioner raised the prospect publicly.

“For households and businesses in an economic slump, cancelling old subscriptions is a financial no-brainer, and it’s time the Government ran the ruler over its own redundant commitments.

“For starters, we could close ministries focused on serving specific demographic groups, and instead spend the funding based on need, through the Social Investment Agency.

“We could scrap the Human Rights Commission and instead strengthen the Human Rights Review Tribunal – the body that can actually act on human rights breaches.

“We could abolish the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, and the Climate Change Commission, and just let the emissions trading scheme do its job.

“If we’re serious about growing the economy, we need to shrink the scope of the government, focus on doing the basics well, and return savings to taxpayers. We need to transfer power and resources away from Wellington and back to the firms, farms, and families doing the real work to pull us out of recession.”

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