James Ross: Taxpayers' Union spokesperson voices disapproval with the Government's plan to invest more into the Elevate fund

There's belief that injecting taxpayer dollars into venture capital comes with high risks.

The Government's putting $100 million into the Elevate fund - which supports small business start-ups. 

It's diverting $61 million from its yearly Super Fund contribution, topped up with $39 million from the Budget.

The Taxpayers Union's James Ross says commercially viable businesses wouldn't need propping up by the Government.

"The fact that the Government is having to do that just proves how high-risk these investments are - and it proves the risks that the taxpayers are being exposed to."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Financement has just given a pre budget speech today
and revealed that she is putting an extra one hundred
million dollars into the Elevate Venture Fund, which invests in startups. Now,
James Ross is from the Taxpayers Union with us right now. Hey, James,
you don't like this idea, do.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
You No, we don't like this idea at all. Why.
I think there's two big issues that we see with this.
The first is that, you know, a week out from
the budget, we are still seeing a government who thinks
that the key to growth is taxing more, spending more,
and picking winners. The second half is that, frankly, you
know this is it's venture capital. It's high risk by design,

(00:35):
it's gambling with taxpayers money and it's all going on
the credit card. It's money. We don't have.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
The point that she's made, though, is that this particular
fund has actually backed successful companies in the past, like
down Aerospace.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yeah, but it's I mean the nature, it's high risk's
it pays off until it doesn't. You know, if we
compare this to something like the New Zealand Green Investment
Investment Finance Fund, which was a very similar scheme, you
know it paid off until they made one hundred and
forty five million dollar loan to settle a zero which
went broken. Then it very quickly didn't. It's just it's
the nature of the sort of gambling that it is

(01:09):
going to backfire on taxpayers.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
Do so. I mean, one of the arguments is that
any of these businesses would actually be able to attract
investment without having to go to the government if they
were good. Do you subscribe to that idea?

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Look, if they were, if they were commercially viable, then
they would be able to attract that finance and they
wouldn't need the government to prop up these essentially prop
up these other venture capital firms. The fact that the
government is having to do that just proves how high
risk these investments are, and it proves the risk that
taxpayers are being exposed to.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
James, why should we lit the taxpayers Union into the
budget lockup?

Speaker 2 (01:44):
We should let the Taxpairs Union into the budget lock
up because we're there to cut through the spin. And frankly,
it's this sort of spin that we're there to cut through.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Jason Walls in political edituses, he doesn't need anyone to
tell them to go to the back of the budget
and look at the numbers. Do you do more than that?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, one hundred percent. You know we're I mean, we've
been in there before. We've actually found mistakes and points
the match Treasury officials, which have subsequently been corrected. We
do this day in day out. We are we are
I hesitate to say experts, but frankly we spend far
too much time with our heads in these books. We
know these numbers inside and out. The public have a
right to know what those numbers are without the spin.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
James, thank you very much. I really appreciate it. James Ross,
the Taxpayers Union. For more from Hither Duplassy Alan Drive,
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