Organisational responsibilities

The Treasury is led by John Whitehead, the Secretary to the Treasury, and comprises five branches. Each branch has a specific focus; however, there is a great deal of interaction across the Department.

Asset and Liability Management Branch

Mike James

The Asset and Liability Management Branch has both operational and policy advice functions. The Branch:

• manages the Crown’s debt, overall cash flows and interest-bearing deposits through NZDMO
• advises Treasury Ministers on public sector financial management systems and managing commercial, contractual and litigation risks on behalf of the Crown. The Branch also provides policy advice on managing and negotiating Treaty of Waitangi claims
• advises on the Crown’s ownership interests and obligations in respect to SOEs, Crown companies, Air New Zealand and CFIs.

Senior managers – Peter Bushnell, Peter Mersi, Angela Hauk-Willis, John Whitehead, Iain Rennie and Mike James.

Budget and Macroeconomic Branch

Peter Bushnell

The Branch has three broad lines of work that include:

• advising the Government on Budget strategy, design, process and management; preparing fiscal projections and the Crown financial statements; and reviewing departmental financial management systems to provide assurance that there is a reasonable system of internal control
• monitoring the economic situation, preparing macroeconomic and tax forecasts and providing advice on macroeconomic policy
• advising on Crown accounting policies.

Regulatory and Tax Policy Branch

Iain Rennie

The Regulatory and Tax Policy Branch advises Ministers on regulatory issues with important economic consequences. These include environmental policy, competition and trade policy as well as transport, local government, land use and natural resources.

The Branch also advises on the structure and operation of a range of government departments and entities in these areas.

Tax policy advice covers the level and mix of direct and indirect taxes, the taxation of international income and the taxation of particular types and sectors of business.

The Branch is also home to the newly formed Policy Support and Analysis Section (PSAS). This section is a strategic resource that works across the Treasury providing the policy advice sections with high-quality support through empirical analysis and development of appropriate analytical frameworks.

Social Policy Branch

Peter Mersi

The Social Policy Branch advises Ministers on the purchase and regulation of social services and public goods, ranging from education and health services to labour market policies, social support services, housing and law enforcement. These are all areas involving a large share of government expenditure.

In addition to advice on spending proposals, the Branch reports on the budgets and financial performance of government agencies.

The Branch provides advice to give assurance to Finance Ministers about departmental proposals. It advises the Minister of Finance on policy developments in the area of social policy and often participates in interdepartmental working parties on reform proposals.

Corporate Branch

Angela Hauk-Willis

The Corporate Branch provides advice to the Chief Executive and senior managers on corporate strategy, policies and practices for the Treasury. The Branch also provides services and specialist advice in relation to finance and planning, human resources, risk management, communications, legal and knowledge management.

The Branch is also home to the newly formed Strategy Unit, whose role is to support the Chief Executive on strategic policy issues. The Strategy Unit maintains an overview across Treasury policy development, identifies important emerging issues, and provides high-quality and concise analysis of the issues aimed at advising how work should be taken forward by the relevant sections across the organisation.

As at 30 June 2006 we had the following number of staff in each of the branches, compared with the previous year.

* Corporate Branch includes the Secretary to the Treasury’s office.