Fiscal Irresponsibility and Non-accountability

Authors

  • Geoff Bertram Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v21i4.10326

Keywords:

fiscal policy, austerity, wellbeing, debt limit, accrual accounting, neoliberalism

Abstract

This is a critical review of the so-called ‘principles of fiscal responsibility’ first legislated in 1994 and currently forming section 26G of the Public Finance Act 1989. The article argues that the term ‘responsibility’ has been wrongly applied to what is actually a prescription for fiscal austerity based on philosophically contested premises. Undue deference to that prescription has tied the hands of successive New Zealand governments, with negative consequences for the nation’s infrastructure and the population’s wellbeing.

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Author Biography

Geoff Bertram, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Geoff Bertram is Visiting Scholar in the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington. He was previously a Senior Associate of the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, and before that a Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics and Finance.

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Published

2025-11-09

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 4 (2025): Policy Quarterly

Section

Articles

License

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