Mike's Minute: Three good ideas from the Govt this week

Three prizes for three good calls this week by the Government. 

1) Financial literacy coming to a school near you in 2027, and not a day too soon. In many respects it’s the more valuable end of the education spectrum. It's education you can actually use. 

2) Nicola Willis and her cutting of the operating allowance from $2.4b to $1.3b. The $2.4b number already had headlines for being skinny, or unrealistic. $1.3b is rabbit out of a hat material. 

I assume she is telling the truth when she says she has found billions in savings, because you can't run a country on thin air. 

3) David Seymour, with more reality check reminders that we have too much Government. In his speech he alerted us to just how much - 82 portfolios, 41 departments and 28 ministers. 

If ever you wanted an example of bloat, there it is. 

The portfolio joke is about appeasing people. There isn't an issue or pressure group you can't appease by inventing a label. 

The real issue is ministers. The good news currently, as Audrey Young in the Herald pointed out this week in her famous marking of ministers annual outing, is most of them are getting good scores and most of them are decent operators. 

But it is not always the case and too often, with the last Government being your classic example, portfolios are used and/or invented to reward loyalty and/or give people pay rises. Whether you can do the job is secondary. 

Good governments are run by a handful of talent. In David Lange's day it was the Prime Minister, Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble and David Caygill. 

With Helen Clark it was the Prime Minister, Michael Cullen, Phil Goff and Annette King. 

With John Key it was Key, Bill English and Steven Joyce. 

This time its Christopher Luxon, Chris Bishop, Nicola Willis and Simeon Brown - multiple portfolios at the heavyweight end of the index. 

Unlike the real world, you will note Cabinet and Government never downsize. The public service can be downsized, but the Government never is. 

Sadly for Seymour, unlike the other two ideas this week, his isn't real. 

Financial literacy will materially improve our kids’ future. 

Willis and her austerity will materially improve our economy. 

If Seymour somehow trims a single minister or ministry, it won't be an idea - it will be a miracle.   

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Three prizes for three good calls this week by the government.
One Financial literacy coming to a school near you in
twenty twenty seven, not a day too soon, and in
many respects it's the more valuable end of the education spectrum.
Education you can actually use. Two Nikola Willis and her
cutting of the operating allowance from two point four to
one point three. Two point four already had headlines for

(00:20):
being skinny and unrealistic. One point three is rabbit out
of a hat material. I assume she's telling the truth
when she says she's found billions in savings, because you
can't run a country on thin air. And then three
David Seymour with more reality checked reminders that we've got
too much government. In a speech yesterday, he alerts us
to just how much government eighty two portfolios, forty one departments,

(00:41):
twenty eight ministers. If you ever wanted an example of bloat,
there it is. The portfolio joke is about appeasing people.
Of course, there isn't an issue or pressure group you
can't appease by inventing a label. The real issue is ministers.
The good news currently, as Audrey Young and The Herald
this week pointed out in her famous marking of minister's
annual out. Most of them are getting good scores, most

(01:01):
of them are decent operators. But it's not always the case,
and too often the last government was your classic example.
Portfolios are used and or invented to reward loyalty and
or give people pay rises. Whether you can do the
job is secondary. Good governments are run by a handful
of talent. Of course, go back to David Longe. It
was David Longe, Douglas Prebble, Kagil Clark, it was Clark, Cullen, Goff,

(01:22):
King Key, it was Key, English Joys. This time it's
luxem Bishop Willison Brown. Multiple portfolios at the heavyweighting end
of the index. Unlike the real world, though, you will note,
cabinets and government never downsize. I mean, the public service
gets downsized all the time, but the government never is.
Lots of departments, lots of portfolios, lots of busy, busy busy. Sadly,
for Seymour, unlike the other two ideas this week, his

(01:44):
isn't real financial literacy will materially improve our kid's future,
willis and her austerity austerity will materially improve our economy.
If Seymour. Somehow trimp's a single minister or ministry. It
won't be an idea, It'll be a mirror. For more
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(02:07):
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