Nature and Scope of Functions
The Treasury provides the government with financial and economic advice and services to help improve New Zealand's economic performance, including the performance of the State sector and macroeconomic stability. The Government goal that the Treasury contributes most directly to is that of economic transformation.
The Treasury currently administers around 52 pieces of legislation on behalf of the government. Most significant of these are the Public Finance Act 1989 and the State Owned Enterprises Act 1986 (http://www.treasury.govt.nz/ abouttreasury/legislation). The Public Finance Act 1989 provides us with the mandate to administer Budget legislation. It is also the platform for the advisory roles expected of us by government. The Treasury's scope includes an interest in institutions, macroeconomic performance and structural policy issues, and financial advice to the Government.
Like all government agencies, the Treasury takes a “managing for outcomes” approach to our work. That is, we focus our efforts on key outcomes that support Government goals. We need to do this in collaboration with other agencies. As the Government's leading economic and financial advisor, the Treasury is one of the three central agencies.
The common purpose of the central agencies stems from a shared, mutual interest in a high performing, trusted and accessible State sector — delivering the right things in the right way at the right prices. In this role we meet the Government outcome for improved state sector performance. To perform this role we have a shared common purpose with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and with the State Services Commission.
In addition to the shared outcome, central agencies have unique roles and responsibilities that contribute to other outcomes.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) exists to support the process of collective decision making, to convey Cabinet's decisions to the relevant Ministers and officials and ensure that the Cabinet receives well-conceived and coordinated advice. DPMC also has a leadership role in relation to government themes and priorities, including conveying the Government's priorities to officials.
The Treasury exists to monitor and manage the financial affairs of the Government and to provide economic and fiscal policy advice. The Treasury is the key agency to support Ministers in balancing priorities through the Budget process. They provide insight into the efficiency and effectiveness of government interventions.
The State Services Commission (SSC) exists to appoint and manage Public Service chief executives, to provide leadership in improving the capability of agencies, sectors and systems, and to ensure that State servants are appropriately focused on responding to the Government's priorities.
Our role
We provide economic advice; financial advice, management and administration; and central agency performance leadership, including:
- policy advice on economic performance
- fiscal and macroeconomic policy advice
- management of economic and fiscal forecasts and fiscal strategy reports, Statement of Long-Term Fiscal Position, and economic and fiscal updates
- the Budget process
- presentation of Crown accounts
- controller functions – controlling money disbursement to departments from the Crown
- management of Crown financial assets and debt – through the New Zealand Debt Management Office (NZDMO)
- export credit insurance as delegated by the Minister of Finance – through the NZECO
- commercial operations – management of commercial, contractual, legal and Treaty of Waitangi related claims against the Crown; management of associated financial risks
- advice and policy for improved State sector financial and asset management performance – in our individual role and as a central agency.
Our policy advice focus is on issues with regulatory or policy implications that may have a significant and therefore pervasive impact on the performance of the economy as a whole, rather than providing second-opinion advice on all issues with economic implications. Supporting the Government focus on sustainability is an important aspect within our role and functions.
The Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit (CCMAU)
CCMAU is a stand-alone unit within the Treasury. It provides monitoring advice to the Minister for State-Owned Enterprises and other responsible Ministers (Vote State-Owned Enterprises) and to the Minister of Research, Science and Technology and the Minister for Economic Development (Vote Crown Research Institutes). The Executive Director of the Unit is directly accountable to the Secretary to the Treasury for the Crown's investment in CCMAU, and for CCMAU's performance.
