Better delivery of public services
Public services and Crown companies make up around a third of economic activity in New Zealand each year. A more efficient public sector will deliver better-quality services, while reducing fiscal and tax pressures on the rest of the economy.
Traditionally, budgets have concentrated on new spending initiatives, rather than how well existing resources are being used. In this Budget the Government determined that it would focus on those few high-priority areas that really mattered. Three-quarters of the $1.1 billion operating allowance, around $800 million, has been allocated to improving health and education services and lifting science and innovation. Most agencies will see no additional funding for several years.
In Budget 2010, the Government told chief executives to look harder at existing programmes, and at how to deliver higher-quality services more efficiently. As a result, $1.8 billion over four years has been freed up to redirect into higher priority areas, including within health and education spending.
Budget 2010 also invests in the infrastructure needed for long-term growth and high-quality public services. Public assets are forecast to increase in value by $32 billion over the next four years. We are instituting higher standards of governance, planning and commercial discipline to ensure we get the best value out of these assets.
