MEDIA RELEASE
Provincial Growth Fund needs more oversight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12 NOVEMBER 2018

Shane Jones’ failure to declare dozens of meetings legitimises concerns of the Provincial Growth Fund model, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says “There is a perception that the Provincial Growth Fund is merely a political tool of New Zealand First. Holding shady meetings behind closed doors that aren’t correctly recorded does nothing but fuel that perception.”

"Ministers should be setting criteria for funding, not meeting with individual applicants and picking and choosing who gets and doesn’t get the taxpayer funded handouts. Here, a Minister is able to approve funding up to $20 million without even seeking Cabinet approval. That flies in the face of New Zealand’s tradition of good governmental process and protections."

ENDS

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