Andrew McConnell: Deputy Auditor-General on the need for the Government to do long term planning

Councils are planning for the long term, so should the Government be doing the same? 

The Auditor-General's Office has compiled a report into 58 councils’ long-term plans, and found they made a “significant achievement” meeting their requirements on time in uncertain circumstances. 

However, they found the Government lacks comparable planning requirements. 

Deputy Auditor-General Andrew McConnell told Mike Hosking they’re raising the question of how much the central government understands about its future infrastructure costs. 

He says most government agencies have a form of infrastructure they’re relying on, so they think that question needs some serious consideration.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we've got to report into fifty eight councils long
term planning. From the Order to General, councils we read
have made a significant achievement meeting their requirements on time
and uncertain circumstances. This led to the AG to suggest
the central government might like to do something similar to
be the Order to General. Andrew McConnell's with it is Andrew,
very good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Good morning makeel.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Can I suggest the reason that the councils might have
done something half decent is because central government tends their
views and policies tend to be a little bit starker
than a local council. Is that fair or not?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
I think that councils have done a really good job
for a couple of reasons. First, they've done this since
around two thousand and so, so they do understand what
they need to be looking at in the first instance.
And also we provide a level of assurance over this
which does help them, does help them arrive at a

(00:49):
strong document.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
But and what's the purpose of this this plan is well, this.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Pantem is really about how how councils strike rates. Fundamentally,
are the councils are given a whole range of powers
by by the state to levy rates, to use those
rates to meet public services in the regions. And these
plans really are for councils to be able to plan forward,

(01:17):
invest in their infrastructure and really show the public how
their rates money is going to be used, which is
why we are in the business of assuring them.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
And but I go back to the central government. I
mean what's happening at the roads and infrastructure at the
moment is a very good example. I think what they're
trying to do this current government, no politics involved, but
what this current government is trying to do round infrastructure
roads is completely different from the last government. So how
do your long term plan when you know it's going
to change, whereas you're not going to see the same
level of change at local level.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Well, what we're what we're really doing is raising the
question of how much does central government understand about infrastructure costs. Now,
these are long term assets, there are varying ages, they
are varying degrees of condition, and most government agencies have
some form of infrastructure they are relying on. So where

(02:06):
we think that question needs some serious consideration.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
And can you long term plan more easily if you
run things like most councils do on a cost plus
accounting basis, where you just start putting up the rates
twelve thirteen, fourteen, fifteen percent because someone else will pay,
and you can't do that at central government.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, the shows that councils out as they do, they're
just a few leaders really to control their revenue so
that they can really address the expenditure that have got
going forward. So there's rates, there's some other revenue, there's debts,
there's cutting services and making savings or if you're fortunate enough,
you're but at your sales, and then there's the government.

(02:45):
So really we think there's a conversation there around how
councils will go on in this space. It is getting
much more difficult with councils in terms of long term
sustainability because of the age of their infrastructure exactly.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Andrew, good to talk to you, appreciate it. Have a
good weekend. Andrew McConnell, Deputy Order to General with us
this morning. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen
live to News Talks at b from six am weekdays,
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