Why Reform New Zealand’s Performance Reporting and Public Accountability System
Fragmented, opaque, and disconnected — New Zealand’s accountability system no longer meets its purpose.
The Finance and Expenditure Committee’s inquiry acknowledges a “patchwork of requirements” that hides meaning rather than revealing it. This is not a procedural issue. It is a constitutional one — when citizens cannot see what government achieves with public money, democracy weakens.
Below explains what is wrong, why it matters, and how reform can reconnect performance, accountability, and public trust.
Principles at Stake
- Transparency: Citizens must see not only how much is spent, but what difference it makes.
- Accountability: Public agencies exist to deliver outcomes, not paperwork.
- Equity: Reporting must show who benefits and who bears cost, across all groups.
- Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Māori partnership and data sovereignty are not optional — they are constitutional foundations.
- Integrity of government: When reporting fails, public trust erodes and misuse of power goes unseen.
What the Inquiry Reveals
- Fragmented structure: Plans, budgets, and results do not align — there is no clear line from objectives to outcomes.
- Data overload, low insight: Thousands of pages bury meaning under numbers that few can interpret.
- Short-term bias: Annual cycles prioritise spending over intergenerational wellbeing.
- Weak equity focus: No consistent measure of whether policies narrow or widen social gaps.
- Limited assurance: Financial statements are audited, but outcomes are not.
Why This Undermines Democracy
- Opacity breeds inequality: When outcomes are hidden, inequities persist unchecked.
- Disconnected systems waste resources: Agencies work in silos, duplicating effort without shared accountability.
- No Treaty grounding: Māori outcomes and data rights remain sidelined, despite being core obligations.
- Loss of trust: Citizens cannot verify value for money or policy impact.
- Illusion of accountability: Compliance replaces insight, and form overtakes function.
What Real Reform Requires
- A unified Performance and Accountability Act: Merge fragmented laws under one framework dedicated to clarity, trust, and improvement.
- Outcome-based reporting: Link every dollar spent to results that matter for people and future generations.
- Independent oversight: Expand the Auditor-General’s role to verify outcomes and impacts, not just finances.
- Te Tiriti-centred design: Co-design accountability measures with iwi and hapū; make Māori outcomes reporting mandatory.
- Public value over paperwork: Replace volume with meaning — simple dashboards, open data, and clear narratives citizens can read.
If You Care About Trust, Truth, and the Future
This inquiry is not about better forms — it is about restoring meaning. Without reform, performance reporting will remain a closed loop of data without direction.
If you believe public money must serve public value,
If you believe government must answer in plain sight,
If you believe the Treaty belongs at the heart of accountability,
Then reform cannot wait.
“Accountability without clarity is illusion.” — Ukes Baha
Read the full submission:
Submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee: Inquiry into Performance Reporting and Public Accountability