The Insider: Losing the faith

The Treasury building in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

In recent years, the Treasury has been trying to bring a more diverse range of thinkers into its brains trust - though it always prided itself on having the "brightest and the best" minds anyway. But it seems not everyone in the public service is impressed. A survey of Treasury's stakeholders shows less than half of public servants agree that the occupants of Treasury HQ model the behaviour they expect of other public service agencies. Meanwhile, the number who describe the Treasury as expert, reliable, and outward facing has decreased, while there has been a rise in those who see it as complicated, demanding and combative.

Making 'em pay

This week's announcement of plans to update GST rules on overseas digital purchases was a big win for the lobbying efforts of local players over much bigger international rivals such as Netflix and Apple. Now ministers are carefully watching overseas developments as other nations chase a much bigger prize - forcing multinationals to pay more corporate tax. The idea of more revenue is always appealing, even if some will remember that National mocked Labour when it said Facebook should pay more tax in New Zealand, suggesting Labour was trying to ban Facebook. One fly in the ointment is that international tax changes might throw some light on how much tax New Zealand companies pay on their overseas operations.

Cosmetic changes

It's too late to save Solid Energy, but some overseas mining companies have found a way to cope with the commodities slump - do something entirely different. Canada's Century Iron Mines, for example, is taking capital intended for a new mine and instead putting it into a venture to distribute eggs from Queensland in Hong Kong and Macau. Aussie mining moguls Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest have branched out into other ventures, including ranching and infant formula. And a Brazilian miner is making an ever more dramatic change, getting out of iron ore and gold to make cosmetics instead.

Weighty words

Usually, when Prime Minister John Key makes one of his YouTube videos, the background is draped with New Zealand flags. But a recent filming covered Key's argument for a new flag, which meant the background had to be changed. Out went the flags, and his officials decided to replace them with a bookshelf filled with bound copies of statutes and some very ancient copies of Hansard - the record of speeches in Parliament. Rumour has it that the PM's bookshelves were a bit sparse, so many weighty tomes had to be carried in to create the right effect.

Prime Minister John Key and his book collection. Photo / Supplied

Don't bank on it

Officials are refusing to say whether Westpac will continue to hold the contract as the Government's banker. The tender for the all-of-government banking services contract was meant to have been decided some time ago. Instead, officials are saying only that "negotiations are progressing well, and the contract will be announced in the near future". Usually, this sort of phrasing is a warning to expect the exact opposite.

Goat-power

Petitioning Parliament for law or policy changes has become less common than it used to be, probably because many people feel it is a waste of time. But there are exceptions, and some petitions do succeed in changing policy, as well as raising awareness. One of the latest petitions is more unusual than most. It calls for a ban on tethering goats on roadsides. MPs don't sense a groundswell of opinion on the issue, but it did attract more than 7000 signatures.

Big-city push

The jockeying over the successor for Business NZ head Phil O'Reilly is starting to heat up, and some of the partner organisations - in particular the Employers and Manufacturers Association - are looking to flex their Auckland muscles over the organisation's direction. O'Reilly has the ability to open doors in the corridors of power, and diplomacy remains a key asset in building strong relationships between business and the Government. But some feel Business NZ should give more priority to the wider interests of the Auckland business community. It will be interesting to see how this plays out and whether a new approach could bring better results in breaking the inertia on Auckland issues.