In discussing New Zealand’s recent Budget, Marc Daalder of Newsroom reports that the wellbeing provisions are to be stripped from the Public Finance Act. These amendments were recently introduced to Parliament, under urgency, six years after the Labour government introduced them in its much-vaunted Wellbeing Budget.
Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, challenged Labour’s claim to be the first government ever to consider the wellbeing of its citizens. While I agree with her on that score, and her comment that “people’s wellbeing was the ultimate purpose of the Budget,” I firmly disagree with her position that the requirement for Treasury to produce a wellbeing report every four years and for the government to explain how wellbeing objectives have guided its decision-making for each Budget will be scrapped.
Instead, I agree Barbara Edmonds, Labour’s finance spokesperson’s view, that “GDP doesn’t guarantee improvements to wellbeing, to our living standards”.
In my view, the Government’s proposed law change is unfortunate and a backward step.
In my book, The Power of Wellbeing, I quoted Prof Richard Layard of the London School of Economics and an expert on life satisfaction, who described the earlier Wellbeing Budget as a “game-changing event”. I agree. The measurement of economic output using GDP and replacing it with a wider measure of the general wellbeing (GWB) taking into account not just economic activity but also the overall wellbeing of its citizens and their progress. And its core are considerations of economic output, a fundamentally important measure, but also considerations of environmental responsibility, economic efficiency, and social cohesion.
I argue in Chapter 2 – “General Wellbeing (“GWB”) – A New Yardstick for Humanity as a Whole” that:
“The Wellbeing Budget’s priorities are mental health, child wellbeing, supporting Māori and Pasifika aspirations, and building a productive nation. The preferences also include ensuring we thrive in the digital age, transform the economy, and remain a prosperous, outward-facing export nation, while at the same time addressing the climate change challenge.
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In short, what this Budget does is to identify what is most conducive to economic growth, but, more fundamentally, what will improve the lives of New Zealanders and address the growing disparity between “the haves and the have-nots.” It is a conscious attempt to stop separating social policy from economic policy. To that extent, it is a real game-changer.”
To my mind the Government’s preoccupation with fiscal austerity and slashing costs, while playing lip-service to these principles is unfortunate. In my book I accept that conservative fiscal policies are critical, but equally as important is the need to achieve general wellbeing rather than to treat it as a political football.
If you are interested in these topics, I encourage you to grab a copy of my book, either through Amazon or good independent booksellers like Timeout Books in Mount Eden, Auckland.
And finally, the bill is currently before the Finance and Expenditure Committee. Submissions are open until 7 July, so have your say.
