Vote Finance at a glance
Actual expenditure for 2005/06 by output
Output performance – Vote Finance
Statement of Service Performance section 45A of the Public Finance Act 1989
Budget Management
This class of outputs covers the development of Budget strategy, and the management and delivery of the Budget process. These outputs contribute to an efficient, effective and innovative State sector by providing credible public sector management and decision-making systems that encourage value for money.
In addition to managing the annual Budget, outputs include the provision of advice to identify and implement further improvements in the design of the Budget process. The focus is on:
- implementing changes arising from the passage of the Public Finance Amendment Act 2004
- improving linkages between the allocation of resources and achieving desired results.
Significant work completed during the year
- Prepared Budget-related legislation including the Appropriations Bills, Imprest Supply Bills and Financial Review Bill.
- Undertook work to implement aspects of the Public Finance Amendment Act.
- Provided advice on the strategy for managing Budget 2006, including spending allocations and other ways to manage pressures.
- Provided detailed advice on managing individual initiatives as part of Budget 2006.
- Prepared the Budget Executive Summary and Estimates (Supplementary and Mains) documentation.
- Introduced a government-wide system to automate the publication of the Estimates Vote chapters, encompassing the new provisions of the Public Finance Act.
| Performance Dimensions | Achieved? |
|---|---|
Quality
|
Met and frequently exceeded expectations
√
|
Quantity
|
√ |
Timeliness
|
√ |
| 2005/06 Actual | 2,225 |
|---|---|
| Supp. Est. – Voted | 2,303 |
| Main Est. | 2,359 |
| 2004/05 Actual | 2,456 |
(Figures are GST exclusive)
Actual 2005/06 output class expenditure was $78,000 or 3% under Supplementary Estimates budgets.
The appropriation for this output class was decreased by $56,000 in the Supplementary Estimates.
(General service performance objectives are detailed here)
Debt and Related Financial Asset Management
This class of outputs contributes to achieving an optimal Crown balance sheet and concerns the operational management of the Crown’s portfolio of sovereign-issued debt and associated financial assets. All expenses are incurred under section 61 of the Public Finance Act 1989. Specific activities include:
- developing and maintaining an appropriate framework for efficiently managing the portfolio and the risks associated with it
- issuing domestic-currency debt to meet the Government’s funding requirements
- disbursing cash to departments and facilitating departmental cash management
- advancing funds to government entities in accordance with Government policy
- providing capital market services and derivative transactions for departments and government entities
- funding the Reserve Bank’s foreign-exchange reserves
- managing foreign-currency assets required to meet net foreign-currency interest and principal payments
- maintaining hedges of foreign-currency debt that cannot be bought back from investors.
Significant work completed during the year
- Issued $2,355 million of Government bonds to meet the Government’s funding requirements.
- Completed $2,862 million of interest-rate swaps and $1,280 million of foreign-currency swaps under NZDMO’s swap programme.
- Completed $43.6 billion of foreign-currency transactions (including foreign-currency swaps) for the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF).
- Provided USD230.7 million and EUR433.1 million in loans to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) under new funding arrangements to support the Bank’s build-up of foreign-currency reserves.
- Completed the implementation of registry arrangements for the new immigration investor policy announced on 16 June 2005, as a joint project with the Department of Labour.
- Established a new strategic advances portfolio in July 2005 for all new lending to Crown housing entities and district health boards.
- Executed a new loan agreement with RBNZ for funding foreign-exchange intervention on a short-term basis.
- Undertook hedging of the Crown’s share of foreign-exchange exposure associated with hosting the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC). Also entered into a foreign-exchange exposure management agreement with the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to document the conditions under which NZDMO and NZRU would independently manage their respective shares of the foreign-exchange risk from hosting the RWC.
- Exercised the Crown’s right to repay CHF57.3 million of outstanding Swiss Franc bonds originally issued in 1986 by the New Zealand Railways Corporation.
- Implemented two changes to Government Kiwi bonds; the first to dispense with an interest-rate differential (previously 50 basis points) for investments under $5,000, and the second to discontinue the four-year maturity.
- Coordinated the visit in June 2006 of international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P). New Zealand is currently rated AA+ by S&P.
- Participated in a work programme to advance a “central agency” shared outcome aimed at improving the performance of the State sector.
- Completed a review of the rate of return assumptions to be applied to CFIs.
- Completed work measuring the risk and return properties of the Government’s overall balance sheet.
| Performance Dimensions | Achieved? |
|---|---|
Quality
|
Met and frequently exceeded expectations
√ |
Quantity
|
√ |
Timeliness
|
√ |
| 2005/06 Actual | 3,721 |
|---|---|
| Supp. Est. – Voted | 3,791 |
| Main Est. | 4,352 |
| 2004/05 Actual | 4,218 |
(Figures are GST exclusive)
Actual 2005/06 output class expenditure was $70,000 or 2% under Supplementary Estimates budgets.
The appropriation for this output class was decreased by $561,000 in the Supplementary Estimates due largely to lower information and other operating costs.
(General service performance objectives are detailed here)
