Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 10/8/23

$40,000 party splurge at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples is well publicised – but what do we pay to support pidgin?

Ele Ludemann rises a good question on her blog today in an article headed No respect for other people’s money.

She has been riled by Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes’s criticism of extravagant spending on a farewell and welcome at a government agency.

Point of Order: Govt’s plan for lifting productivity and wages entails a $30m investment and a role for the state as a partner

One economic measure which Ministers of Finance can’t brag about is productivity growth. It has been an issue of concern for decades.

In the 2022 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, New Zealand suffered the biggest drop in rankings among 63 nations compared on measures which include business productivity.

New Zealand dropped in all competitiveness rankings. We ranked 46th for technological infrastructure and 27th for scientific infrastructure, while our track record on productivity and efficiency landed us in 48th place.