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Economy – Treasury welcomes independent Performance Improvement Review

Source: The Treasury

The Public Service Commission today released an independent Performance Improvement Review (PIR) of the Treasury, commissioned by Secretary to the Treasury, Iain Rennie.
“I welcome the PIR and thank the reviewers for their thorough and independent assessment. While it was good to see that the reviewers found strength in some areas of our operations, such as our Budget processes, it is clear there is room for improvement and faster change in several aspects of our performance,” said Iain Rennie, Secretary to the Treasury.
“As the PIR points out, we must focus on deepening our economic advice and analysis, providing greater strategic financial leadership across the system and improving the way we engage with New Zealanders both on the long-term fiscal challenges and decisions we face as a country, but also in understanding the opportunities and barriers to achieving economic growth.
“It had been over a decade since our last independent review and much has changed since then. When I commissioned the PIR, I wanted an external perspective on our performance and where we need to focus our efforts to better meet current and future demands.
“New Zealand faces real long-term fiscal pressures. Our recent stewardship documents including our Long-term Fiscal Statement and our Long-term Insights Briefing make it clear that without proactive choices, an aging population, weak productivity growth and rising public expectations will place growing pressure on government finances. The Treasury’s role is to give the Government and New Zealanders the best possible advice to navigate those challenges.
“The PIR gives me confidence that the direction of change at the Treasury is right to meet those challenges. Many of its findings and recommendations reflect work already underway across the organisation through our transformation programme. However, like any thorough review, it also challenges us to go further and faster and we will act on that.
“I thank those that contributed to this review.”