Government's work plan lacks measurables, National says

The coalition Government has outlined its plan for the country but National says it's just 'nice words on a paper'. Photo / Greg Bowker

A leaked document on the Government's work programme and achievements to date reveal it is nothing more than "nice words on a paper", National leader Simon Bridges says.

"No wonder they wanted to keep it a secret," he said.

"It's nice words on paper rather than anything definitive.

"The Government should be judged on the results it delivers for New Zealanders. The problem with this appendix is that it actively avoided this kind of accountability that is accountability and results," Bridges told the Herald.

The document is an appendix to a Cabinet paper on implementing and monitoring the Government's priorities.

The Cabinet paper itself was released on Sunday as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern outlined the Government's blueprint for the country, but the appendix was withheld.

A copy leaked to the Herald reveals a list of 133 policies either flagged or under way and the work streams required to achieve them.

It also contains high-level indicators for defining success, but not for measuring progress.

The Cabinet paper says the indicators are intended to define success as opposed to measure activity.

Bridges said the Better Public Services (BPS) targets, implemented by the previous National government and scrapped by the coalition Government, were detailed measures of progress.

"They were measuring everything from cancer treatment waiting times to student pass rates and immunisation. Now here, they're not going to measure anything which means real results, real delivery for New Zealanders will be next to impossible," he said.

One of the areas the Government is working on is developing a broader set of success measures, and includes the Living Standards Framework, Indicators Aotearoa, the Wellbeing Budget and child poverty indicators.

Bridges said he was sceptical of what they would measure.

"The reality is they have got a record of avoiding this kind of accountability with the BPS targets and now this appendix."

Ardern today denied that the Government's plan was "underwhelming" and short on detail.

"What we put out are measurable things that New Zealanders can track our progress against and I'm much more interested in what they think," Ardern told Radio New Zealand.

"It was an action plan. Yes, there are measurables that we're still developing. We want people to see whether or not we're making progress, but again, we'll be transparent about those as well."