Council of Trade Unions economist Craig Renney has been barred from a key Treasury briefing on the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) and the Budget Policy Statement (BPS).
The restricted briefing, colloquially known as a “lock-up” allows media, economists and others to read both documents for two hours before they are made public. The Treasury Secretary and the Finance Minister give a speech on the documents as well.
Economists from the CTU and other organisations have attended the briefing in years past, but on Monday Renney was told by Treasury that his application had been declined, with Treasury saying the purpose of the briefing was to “provide journalists and analysts from media, economic, and financial organisations with sufficient time so that the complex information presented can be analysed and reported accurately when embargo is lifted, assisting in transparency and accountability to the public”.
Treasury said that Renney did not meet these criteria. Renney worked for former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and is currently a member of the Labour Party’s Policy Council, which is part of the party’s policy development process. He has been one of the most vehement critics of the current Government and its fiscal and economic policy,
NZ Herald
Face of the Day
Treasury said that Renney did not meet the criteria to attend the briefing lock up.
Related
Truth of the Day
If we refuse to confront this failure, we will ensure that we will do it again.
Face of the Day
Splotch said Seneng had been working at a school in Dos Palos when she was bitten, which local media identified as Bryant Middle School.
Latest
This Government Is a Stain on Australia
Too little, too late from Albanese is just the tip of his government’s anti-Semitism problem.
‘A Woke Academia Virus’ in the Council
One of the more significant additions involves requiring nurses to “describe the impact of colonisation and social determinants on health and wellbeing”.
